If you’ve sensed that efforts to limit access to books in America’s libraries and schools are on the rise, there’s now data to prove you’re right. Book challenges at libraries and schools rose 65% in 2023, according to the latest…
Opposing book bans is a spiritual act, interfaith group says
People of faith must stand up against the proliferation of book-banning campaigns or face the inevitable erosion of religious liberties, according to library and reading advocate Tracie Hall. “This is a moment we cannot take lying down. We cannot have…
‘Vengeance is mine,’ says school board trustee who snuck into library to look for objectionable books with a flashlight
A small-town Texas school board member who believes there are pornographic books in the school library was censured by the other trustees of Granbury Independent School District Aug. 23. Trustee Karen Lowery — who ran for office last fall on…
For the love of literature: How book bans are whitewashing America
It’s back to school time and, in the latest effort of book banning, new state legislation will restrict literature allowed in Texas schools based on a vague rating system about sexual content. House Bill 900, which goes into effect Sept….
Banning books, bathrooms and medical care in the name of Jesus is a sin
Recently, when I went to my local grocery store outside Houston, I was greeted by rainbow-colored cups and recyclable grocery bags emblazoned with the message “Y’all Means All” on the front of a Texas-shaped rainbow. “Woohoo!” I exclaimed when I…
To the mother who complained about Amanda Gorman’s poem
Dear Concerned Mother, You were astute to signal the potential problems the published poem, “The Hill We Climb” by Amanda Gorman, might cause for your own two children and other elementary school readers at Bob Graham Education Center in Miami…
As someone with family in McMinn County, here’s how I’m straddling the fence on the debate over Maus
Several folks have asked my opinion about the recent controversy over the book Maus and its removal from the middle school curriculum in McMinn County, Tenn. Two disclosures: First, I have deep and abiding family roots in McMinn County. Second,…
Americans must ‘change the narrative’ on public schools, panelists urge
Concerned Americans — including people of faith — must “change the narrative of how things are going” in the debate over public education, according to a veteran educator who recently resigned as superintendent of a top-rated Texas school district. “Let’s…
Everything you need to know about the rise in efforts to ban books from libraries
Remember those quaint days when some people tried to ban the Harry Potter books from libraries because they were sure kids would learn how to cast spells if they read the fictional accounts of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?…