{"id":32969,"date":"2024-04-17T12:47:42","date_gmt":"2024-04-17T19:47:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=32969"},"modified":"2024-04-17T12:47:43","modified_gmt":"2024-04-17T19:47:43","slug":"ed-scare-deepens-as-4000-books-banned-in-first-half-of-school-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2024\/04\/17\/ed-scare-deepens-as-4000-books-banned-in-first-half-of-school-year\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018ED SCARE\u2019 DEEPENS\u200b AS 4,000+ BOOKS BANNED IN FIRST HALF OF SCHOOL YEAR"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/media-library\/banned-books.jpg?id=42961152&amp;width=1200&amp;height=400&amp;quality=90&amp;coordinates=0%2C478%2C0%2C857\" alt=\"Banned books\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Books banned by the superintendent of Spotsylvania County Public School are seen on display at Riverby Books on August 22, 2023 in Fredericksburg, Virginia.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Photo: Julia Nikhinson\/The Washington Post via Getty Images)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u201cThe bans we\u2019re seeing are broad, harsh, and pernicious\u2014and they\u2019re undermining the education of millions of students across the country,\u201d said one lead author of a new PEN America report.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/author\/brett-wilkins\">BRETT WILKINS<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Apr 16, 2024 (CommonDreams.org)<a href=\"https:\/\/giving.commondreams.org\/-\/XKQWGZVR\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>U.S. school districts banned more books during the first half of the current academic year than during the entire last scholastic year, a report published Tuesday revealed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>PEN America recorded 4,349 book bans across 52 school districts in 23 states during the fall 2023 semester, more than double the 1,841 titles that were prohibited during the spring term and more than the 3,362 volumes reported banned nationwide during the entire previous academic year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFor anyone who cares about the bedrock of American values and the protection of free expression, this report should be a red alert,\u201d said Sabrina Ba\u00eata, manager of PEN America\u2019s Freedom to Read program and a co-lead author of the report, which comes as the free expression and human rights group is under fire from critics who&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2024\/03\/30\/pen-america-festival-boycott-israel-palestine\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">say<\/a>&nbsp;it\u2019s ignoring Palestinian writers during Israel\u2019s genocidal war on&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/gaza\">Gaza<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">A new <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/BannedInTheUSA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#BannedInTheUSA<\/a> report from PEN America highlights school book bans from the fall 2023 semester.<br><br>Between July and December 2023, we recorded over 4,000 book bans\u2014more than the entirety of last school year. <br><br>More: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/NiuxvDUCGo\">https:\/\/t.co\/NiuxvDUCGo<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/BannedBooks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#BannedBooks<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/FreeTheBooks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#FreeTheBooks<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/OC8OSvcLE2\">pic.twitter.com\/OC8OSvcLE2<\/a><\/p>&mdash; PEN America (@PENamerica) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PENamerica\/status\/1780204770986275061?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 16, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The report found that Florida again had the highest number of banned books, with 3,135 proscribed titles across 11 school districts. In Wisconsin, PEN America recorded 481 banned books in three districts\u2014including 444 titles&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/kaukaunacommunitynews.com\/2023\/12\/12\/parent-challenges-444-books-in-wisconsin-school-district\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">blacklisted<\/a>&nbsp;in the Elkhorn Area School District following one parent\u2019s request. Iowa and Texas\u2014with 142 and 141 forbidden titles, respectively\u2014round out the report\u2019s top four book-banners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to PEN America:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>While censors continue to use the concept of \u201cobscenity\u201d to justify widespread books bans, the report examines a wave of intense scrutiny over books that discuss women, sexual violence, and rape. This concerted focus comes amid an epidemic of sexual violence in the United States. The report also finds that books discussing race and racism, LGBTQ+ and especially transgender identities continue to be targeted at consistently high rates.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Book-banners continued to lean heavily upon \u201canti-obscenity\u201d laws and exaggerated claims of \u201cpornography in schools\u201d in attempts to justify prohibiting books about sexual violence and LGBTQ+ issues. This has resulted in the disproportionate targeting of queer, nonbinary, and women authors. Similarly, the conservative fixation on purging critical race theory and \u201cwoke ideology\u201d is undermining efforts to ensure school libraries are diverse and inclusive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBook bans are targeting narratives about race and sexual identities and sexual content writ large, and they show no sign of stopping,\u201d said Ba\u00eata. \u201cThe bans we\u2019re seeing are broad, harsh, and pernicious\u2014and they\u2019re undermining the education of millions of students across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But people are fighting back against what PEN America calls the \u201cEd Scare.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cGalvanized by the actions of the very students most impacted by book bans, a broad coalition of educators, librarians, parents, authors, and advocates are organizing in ways large and small to protect the freedom to read,\u201d the report notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I&#39;m joining <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/EdTrust?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@EdTrust<\/a> &amp; education leaders on Wednesday to discuss my <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/BooksSaveLives?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#BooksSaveLives<\/a> Act and our fight against book bans nationwide.<br><br>Everyone deserves to see themselves reflected in our literature and to learn <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/HonestHistory?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#HonestHistory<\/a>.<br><br>RSVP now: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/SMAOTNeQI1\">https:\/\/t.co\/SMAOTNeQI1<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/R0pbcL0027\">pic.twitter.com\/R0pbcL0027<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (@RepPressley) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RepPressley\/status\/1780020632433852439?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 15, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>PEN America Freedom to Read program director Kasey Meehan, another co-lead author of the report, said that \u201cstudents are at the epicenter of the book-banning movement, and they\u2019re fearlessly spearheading the fight against this insidious encroachment into what they can read and learn across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBy suppressing these stories, censors seek to delegitimize experiences that resonate deeply with young people,\u201d Meehan added. \u201cJust as we\u2019ve seen the power of America\u2019s youth in rallying around causes such as gun violence prevention, they\u2019re refusing to yield to the censorship of book bans threatening their peers and communities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/author\/brett-wilkins\">BRETT WILKINS<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Brett Wilkins is a staff writer for Common Dreams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/author\/brett-wilkins\">Full Bio &gt;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Books banned by the superintendent of Spotsylvania County Public School are seen on display at Riverby Books on August 22, 2023 in Fredericksburg, Virginia.&nbsp; (Photo: Julia Nikhinson\/The Washington Post via Getty Images) \u201cThe bans we\u2019re seeing are broad, harsh, and pernicious\u2014and they\u2019re undermining the education of millions of students across&#8230; <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2024\/04\/17\/ed-scare-deepens-as-4000-books-banned-in-first-half-of-school-year\/\"> Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr; <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32969"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32969"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32969\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32970,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32969\/revisions\/32970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}