The idea of banning these books about race and LGBTQ+ people is to remove representation of those concepts / people from society, from public view. It is not about protecting kids, it is about enforcing white straight cis fundamentalist Christian values on everyone and making everyone conform to a small segment of society view of what is proper to be allowed. So yes these guys pull this shit. After all who does this girl think she is to second guess old white Christian men. Hugs. Scottie
One of Hanover student and Girl Scout Kate’s “Banned Book Nook” at Morr Donuts in Mechanicsville, VA
The Hanover County Board of Supervisors spent their Wednesday afternoon meeting approving language to honor a handful of Girl Scouts for completing their Gold Award projects, among other items.
But one Girl Scout, whose project was designed to fight what she sees as censorship in the county’s school system, had her commendation “amended.”
Cold Harbor District Supervisor Michael Herzberg pulled out the proclamation for Hanover County student Kate Lindley from a group of proclamations for Girl Scouts achieving their highest honor.
It’s an idea she came up with after Hanover County removed over 75 titles from school libraries, claiming they contained “inappropriate language,” “violence” and “sexually explicit content.”
Lindley’s project got media attention, and she’s since grown her project’s collection to over 400 books, giving access to the censored literature where it might otherwise be denied.
You can find out more via Lindley’s Instagram account for the project here.
And while her original proclamation language specifically mentions quote “identifying locations where books were available that had been banned by Hanover County Public Schools libraries,” Supervisor Herzberg’s motion led to quote “amending” -Lindley says censoring- that detail along with any other mention of banned books or censorship.
“The Board of Supervisors has bestowed upon me the greatest honor anyone fighting censorship and banning could receive by censoring me and my project,” Lindley said.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Hanover County said that items on the consent agenda are quote “always subject to change or amendment” and that’s what happened Wednesday.
And while Lindley is set to graduate in the next few weeks before heading off to college, she plans to attend and receive whatever commendation the board of supervisors is willing to give her.
But she plans to let them know how she feels afterward.
I have posted this before. But it needs repeating. This is what terrifies the fundamentalist Christian right and why republicans are pushing the don’t say gay, anti-woke, and the banning of any representation of LGBTQ+ media in schools, movies, and libraries. They cannot accept that people different from them are accepted in our society. Hugs. Scottie
LGBTQ+ identification in the U.S. continues to grow, with 7.6% of U.S. adults now identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or some other sexual orientation besides heterosexual. The current figure is up from 5.6% four years ago and 3.5% in 2012. Bisexual adults make up the largest proportion of the LGBTQ+ population — 4.4% of U.S. adults and 57.3% of LGBTQ+ adults say they are bisexual.
Slightly less than 1% of U.S. adults are transgender. Overall, each younger generation is about twice as likely as the generation that preceded it to identify as LGBTQ+. More than one in five Gen Z adults, ranging in age from 18 to 26 in 2023, identify as LGBTQ+, as do nearly one in 10 millennials (aged 27 to 42). The percentage drops to less than 5% of Generation X, 2% of baby boomers and 1% of the Silent Generation.
LGBTQ+ identification in the U.S. continues to grow, with 7.6% of U.S. adults now identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or some other sexual orientation besides heterosexual. The current figure is up from 5.6% four… pic.twitter.com/iweJ76PS1w
Yes let’s put the LGBTQ+ hater who demands control over everyone’s children in charge of what books should be removed from libraries. That is like putting a fundamentalist religious extremist in charge of women’s rights. Hugs. Scottie
Some of Florida’s loudest advocates for public school book removals make up half of a state government-sponsored group to advise school districts on how to select titles and when to pull them off shelves.
Moms for Liberty members made up three of six members of a Department of Education workgroup that met Thursday in Tallahassee to redevelop an online training program for school librarians and media specialists following a 2023 state law focused on book challenges.
It’s a demonstration of the state’s willingness to cater to the conservative group, which has long supported Gov. Ron DeSantis and, along with its local chapters, has become the leading voice against books in schools that it considers inappropriate.
“It’s evident that the Florida Department of Education is not ready to turn a corner and start tamping down on the gross censorship we’re seeing across the state,” said Stephana Ferrell, co-founder and director of research and insight for the Florida Freedom to Read Project, a book access advocacy organization.
Ferrell had applied to be a part of the workgroup. So did more than 20 others, according to resumes her group received through a public records request. Most, like Ferrell herself, weren’t picked.
Instead, the department selected Priscilla West, chair of Moms For Liberty-Leon County, Moms for Liberty Indian River County Chapter Chair Jennifer Pippin and Jamie Merchant, Florida legislative chair for the national parents’ group.
West and Pippin, in an interview after the meeting in the state Department of Education building, emphasized their role as parents, not just Moms for Liberty representatives.
“Organizations aside, at the end of the day, we’re parents, we’re moms and we’re concerned with what we’re finding in the schools,” Pippin said.
And they were also concerned with the meeting itself, which lasted approximately only an hour. Advocates on both sides of the book debate said it didn’t do enough to clarify the expectations for schools.
Meet the Moms for Liberty on the librarian training workgroup
As previously reported by the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida, West’s group is working to remove a number of books from school libraries.
“Good Evening, Joyful Warriors!” she wrote in an email to members last year. “We are rockin’ and rollin’ with these book challenges!”
In the lead-up to Thursday’s meeting, the Facebook page for West’s chapter made a multitude of posts soliciting parents to challenge various titles with sexual and LGBTQ material.
When a commenter responded that transgender students deserve to see themselves represented in books, the account ridiculed gender transitions.
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Pippin, meanwhile, made many headlines for her school book challenges. One of them was about a children’s book, called “Unicorns Are The Worst,” that showed the bare behind of a goblin. As a result of her challenge, clothes were drawn over the goblin.
She also got “Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation” pulled from a Indian River County high school.
Merchant, the Moms for Liberty Florida legislative chair, was previously reported as a “Mamas for DeSantis” participant, a pro-DeSantis initiative launched during his gubernatorial reelection campaign in 2022. The conservative education reform-focused Florida Citizens Alliance lists her on its website as a member of its advisory council.
In an emailed statement, Tiffany Justice, co-founder of Moms for Liberty, said, “We are glad that our members are taking an interest in public schools and public policy in education.”
The other three members were made up of media specialists from Republican-dominated Marion, Manatee and Wakulla counties.
‘We shoud err on the side of freedom’: Meeting leaves all sides disappointed
Both Pippin and Merchant had been in the original workgroup, which was formed after DeSantis signed the Republican-backed Curriculum Transparency Act in 2022, which he touted as a way to increase parental involvement in education and prevent “indoctrination.”
The law requires districts to catalog every book they offer and put a formal review process in place for complaints.
The original online training program, which came out at the beginning of 2023, contained a slide that warned educators to “err on the side of caution” with their book choices. Another slide pointed out that school officials could be charged with a third-degree felony if materials are found harmful to minors under an older state law.
School districts interpreted the guidance in wildly varying ways, leading some to pull hundreds of titles out of fear of potential penalties, and others to pull none. A national free speech advocacy group recently ranked Florida No.1 in “book bans,” a much-debated term to describe the books pulled from public schools.
The workgroup didn’t alter that original presentation wording, much to the disappointment of a Florida Education Association representative who spoke during the public comment period of the meeting.
“We should err on the side of freedom. We should err on the side of education, not on the side of caution,” said Luke Flynt, communication specialist for the teachers union.
Instead, the group discussed the incorporation of yet another book challenge law into the training. The measure makes it easier to get a challenged book removed for “sexual conduct.”
Much of the meeting, which was not broadcast virtually, was dominated by the complexities of the new law.
Members agreed on adding a new slide about the new objection criteria, which includes requiring that a book be removed within five days of a challenge because it includes pornography or “sexual conduct” and until the complaint is resolved. They also OK’d adding audio to a slide about book selection criteria explaining that people can file sexual conduct objections.
Despite having an agenda predicting the meeting would last much of the day, it started and ended in about an hour.
Pippin and West said they would have liked more time. The meeting, they said, could have been a virtual meeting or email.
“My anticipation was to do the work and discuss other things,” said Pippin, who added that she had woken up at 3 a.m. to make it to the meeting, which was attended by and steered by Department of Education employees. “I probably had five or 10 more questions I could have asked, but I saw they kept redirecting to (the new state law).”
She pointed out a recent press conference from DeSantis where, citing frivolous objections, he called for limits to how many books the public can challenge in schools. The Legislature passed a bill this past session, which the governor has not yet signed, that states a “resident of the county who is not the parent or guardian of a student with access to school district materials may not object to more than one material per month.”
Ferrell also said the group should have done more, such as including information about the settlement from earlier in the week between the state and LGBTQ groups over the critic-called “Don’t Say Gay” law, which restricts classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation. Some school districts had pulled books citing the law.
But the settlement, in part, comes with a statement from the state that the law does not affect library books (something that had already been said by Attorney General Ashley Moody in legal filings).
Ferrell said she doesn’t believe the training properly explains the new law and only adds to the confusion: “They will encourage more removals,” she warned.
It’s unclear if the group will convene again.
This reporting content is supported by a partnership with Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. USA TODAY Network-Florida First Amendment reporter Douglas Soule can be reached at DSoule@gannett.com.
Priscilla West, chair of Moms For Liberty-Leon County, is in the group.
“Good Evening, Joyful Warriors!” wrote West in an email to members last year. “We are rockin' and rollin' with these book challenges!”https://t.co/y5CXRMopFc
Moms for Liberty members make up half of a group to advise Florida school districts on how to select titles and when to pull them off of shelves. https://t.co/TGjxvih9DC
I do not understand why people like this guy claims that they speak for real Americans, That everyone but them is destroying their country, that they are losing their country, that everyone knows … when it is not true, or my favorite they use, they push the idea that they are the majority when they are not. That is a tactic maga uses, the maga person claims to be representing the country or the people when in fact they are a minority. Lib’s of TikTok use it, as does Mom’s for Liberty. These kinds of people act like they and the ones like them are the only ones in the country that matter or count, that no one else has rights or the right to think differently. That is because these people are a minority that want to rule others. Also why are these people so terrified of sex and body parts? They spend more time thinking about different people having sex than porn watchers. I want to tell these people to just get laid, have sex and enjoy it, or don’t if you don’t want to. Just stop trying to force others to live as you do. Hugs. Scottie
Pastor Alex McFarland writes for the Moonie Times:
Remember the San Fransisco Gay Men’s Choir and their 2021 video singing, “We’re coming for your children?” Remember that? At the time, as many conservatives and “traditional morality” voices expressed concern, with equal conviction many voices essentially retorted, “Chill out! Can’t you people take a joke?”
But for the “Gay Nationalists” working to groom America’s youth for a thoroughly woke, hyper-sexualized tomorrow, all of this is no joke. Gay, trans and critical race theory activists take their work of deconstructing America with religious fervor. Because deviancy and license are their religion.
With contempt for God and His followers, traditional Americans are slammed as “Christian nationalists.” But let’s call the woke zealots what they are: Gay Nationalists. Live gay, live straight, live chaste, live promiscuously – each of us will answer to Almighty God for how we responded to the truth we really did know. But the abandonment of known moral truth to placate the sexual deviants who are after our children; this is paving the way for the loss of America.
Read the full article. McFarland hosts a daily show on the American Family Association’s nearly 200 radio stations.
He last appeared here in January 2024 when he declared that “all human rights progress for the last 2000 years has been due to Jesus.”
McFarland first appeared here in 2015 when he blamed a mass shooting in California on God’s anger over the nationwide legalization of same-sex marriage.
Gay and trans activists take their work of deconstructing America with religious fervor. Deviancy and license are their religion. https://t.co/D5sBAUBAgP
— Washington Times Opinion (@WashTimesOpEd) March 14, 2024
All of these attacks exemplify pushback against inclusion and welcome for ‘the other’: “The first and most fundamental way in which white Christian nationalism threatens American liberal democracy is that it defines ‘the people’ in a way that excludes many Americans. White Christian nationalism is a form of what is often called ‘ethno-nationalism.’ Liberal democracy rests on what is usually called ‘civic nationalism’ It defines the nation in terms of values, laws, and institutions.’” (The Flag and The Cross, p. 114)
Throughout the book the authors explore and re-explore the meaning of the deep story of white Christian nationalism: “White Christian nationalism is our term for the ethno-traditionalism among many white Americans that conflates racial, religious, and national identity (the deep story) and pines for cultural and political power that demographic and cultural shifts have increasingly threatened…. (T)he term Christian in white Christian nationalism is often far more akin to a dog whistle that calls out to an aggrieved tribe than a description of the content of one’s faith.” (The Flag and The Cross, p. 44)
The Rev has a wonderful way to think of being trans. In order to be the person god wanted me to become, I must let go of what I was. Or he rephrased, to be who god created me to be, I must leave / change who I was. What a compassionate Christian man, a good person. Hugs. Scottie
Another great video by the Rev. Ed Trevors. He shoots down the need of some who claim that Christ is king and all powerful lord to then go on constant screeds of outrage and making claims that god is being taken away. He shows how this is not Christian, he shows how this is simply using people and doing what the bible says not to do. I love this man’s message. Hugs. Scottie
Some people weirdly think they have the right to tell others what to believe, what to wear, what to call themselves. The fundamentalist seem to want to force everyone to be like them, live like them, read only what they read. Hugs Scottie
Clouds pass over the Missouri State Capitol on Sept. 16, 2022, in Jefferson City, Mo.
Jeff Roberson/AP
A newly proposed law in Missouri could charge teachers and counselors with a felony and require them to register as sex offenders if they’re found guilty of supporting transgender students who are socially transitioning.
Missouri state Rep. Jamie Gragg, a Republican, introduced HB 2885 last week. If passed and signed into law, the legislation would criminalize the act of “contributing to social transition” for anyone acting in an official capacity at their school, including providing informational or material support.
The proposed bill joins a string of anti-LGBTQ measures that have been filed in states across the US and comes amid a growing “parental rights” movement that seeks to empower parents to decide what can be taught in classrooms about gender, sexuality and race.
The bill defines social transitioning as “the process by which an individual adopts the name, pronouns, and gender expression, such as clothing or haircuts, that match the individual’s gender identity and not the gender assumed by the individual’s sex at birth.”
In Missouri, a person charged with a class E felony could face a maximum of four years in prison. A Tier I sex offender could also remain on the Sex Offender Registry for up to 15 years, according to another Missouri statute.
CNN has reached out to Gragg for comment.
In an interview with CNN affiliate KY3, Gragg said the goal of the bill is to “put the social learning development of our children back in the hands of the parents.”
“Ultimately, whose children are these? They belong to the family that they come from. If there is a situation where they don’t have that parental or guardian to go back on or to talk to, there is other help, professional help they can get,” Gragg told the outlet.
It is unclear if Gragg’s bill will be taken up in the state House and it has not been scheduled for a hearing.
‘Hateful and malicious’
LGBTQ advocates and Missourians have criticized the bill, including Gragg’s brother.
During a news conference Thursday, Charles Gragg, Jr., a retired and disabled veteran who lives in Springfield, Missouri, said he was shocked by the bill his younger brother authored and that the measure “took his breath away.”
“This bill is removing valuable support that is important for children. It needlessly targets teachers in addition to attacking those that they don’t agree with. It also attacks anyone who expresses compassion or tolerance and seeks to silence them. I believe it’s intended to remove them from the future conversations,” Gragg Jr. said.
Robert Fischer, communications director for PROMO, a LGBTQ+ policy and advocacy organization in Missouri that organized Thursday’s presser, said students and teachers have contacted the group to express concern about how the bill could impact educators.
“We will certainly have conversations with legislators to see what can be done, but also we’ll mobilize our community of LGBTQ+ Missourians and allies to fight back against this because teachers are an incredibly crucial part of our educational system,” Fischer said.
New survey finds a majority of teachers say state governments have too much influence over what’s taught in classrooms
GLSEN, an organization that aims to create safe and inclusive school environments for LGBTQ+ youth, also criticized the bill. Melanie Willingham-Jaggers, executive director of GLSEN, said the bill is “deeply transphobic.”
“While this egregious bill is expected to die in committee hearings, it is increasingly alarming to watch extremist state legislators peddle anti-trans hate and continue to introduce discriminatory policies,” Willingham-Jaggers said in a statement to CNN. “Hate speech, especially when enshrined into discriminatory policies like these transphobic bills in Oklahoma and Missouri, leads to hate crimes.”
Oklahoma’s governor signed a bill into law last year banning gender-affirming care for minors with the possibility of a felony charge for health care professionals who provide it.
Last month, Nex Benedict, a nonbinary high school student in Oklahoma, died a day after they told their family they were involved in a fight at school. Civil rights groups and advocates have blamed a heightened and hostile climate against the LGBTQ+ community for contributing to Benedict’s death.
In 2023, at least 510 anti-LGBTQ bills were introduced in state legislatures, according to data from the American Civil Liberties Union. The organization is also tracking 478 bills in the 2024 legislative session that restrict LGBTQ rights.
Gragg Jr. said he has not spoken with his brother about the bill and does not know what would inspire him to sponsor it.
“It’s just hateful and malicious. This legislation will cost lives and recklessly destroy others just for the sin of being compassionate.”
It is a case of I don’t want my child to read these books so your child can’t read them either. These people want control over everyone, every child, they demand to rule your life. Hugs. Scottie
Hundreds of new books featuring characters of color and LGBTQ+ themes were found by the trash at a Staten Island elementary school, outraging some parents and sparking an education department investigation.
Gothamist obtained photos from a Brooklyn book lover that showed boxes of kids’ books left with the garbage at PS 55, known as the Henry Boehm School. Some had sticky notes on them detailing themes and content in the books, which appeared to be part of a 2019 initiative to diversify school materials. The city education department launched an investigation after Gothamist shared the images.
A note on “My Two Border Towns,” about a boy’s life on the United States-Mexico border, read “Our country has no room and it’s not fair.” A note on “The Derby Daredevils,” about a girls’ roller derby team, read “Not approved. Discusses dad being transgender. Teenage girls having a crush on another girl in class.” And a note on “We Are Still Here! Native American Truths Everyone Should Know” read “negative slant on white people.”
A note on a copy of “My Two Border Towns” taken from the school reads “Our country has no room and it’s not fair.”
Holly Spiegel
Even books about the Marvel Comics hero Black Panther and legendary singer and activist Nina Simone were discarded.
It was unclear whether the removal of the books resulted from an objection raised by staff or parents. The education department said no formal challenge to the books was raised through official channels, though a part-time librarian had inquired about the process.
Until this incident, New York City had seemed largely immune from the high-profile efforts to ban books that are roiling school communities in Florida, New Jersey and other parts of the country.
“Our public schools do not shy away from books that teach students about the diverse people and communities that make up the fabric of our society,” education department spokesperson Nicole Brownstein said, noting the removal of the books was not sanctioned.
The school principal and PTA president did not respond to inquiries.
Many PS 55 parents were surprised to learn the books had been removed.
The education department said it was investigating why the books were discarded from the PS 55 library.
Jessica Gould
“I don’t believe in banning books at all,” said Angela Hartje, whose daughter is in third grade.
“It’s one step closer to ‘Fahrenheit 451,’” she added, referencing the classic sci-fi novel by Ray Bradbury about a dystopian America where books have been outlawed.
‘Not approved’
Holly Spiegel, of East Flatbush, alerted Gothamist to the controversy. Her neighbor, who was working near the school in November, retrieved hundreds of the books from the trash and gave them to Spiegel, knowing she could use them for the free “Little Libraries” she manages around their neighborhood. Spiegel then got in touch with the school and made two additional trips where she recovered hundreds more books in boxes marked “not approved.”
Sticky notes on the books pointed to apparent reasons why they were censored. A note on “Julian Is A Mermaid,” about a boy who dresses as a mermaid, read “Boy questions gender.” A post-it on “Chester Nez and the Unbreakable Code: A Navajo Code Talker’s Story,” cited a specific page, along with the question “white man’s world?”
A copy of “Derby Daredevils” had a note reading “Not approved. Discusses being transgender. Teenage girls having a crush on another girl in class.”
Holly Spiegel
Notes on pages of “Black Panther: The Young Prince” read “Witchcraft? Human skulls” and “Pact with Devil. Burned in fire.”
A note on “Nina: A Story of Nina Simone” read “This is about how black people were treated poorly but overcame it. (Can go both ways).”
“At its heart, this feels like censorship,” Spiegel said. “It feels like book banning.”
City statistics show the student body at PS 55 is 78% white, 11% Hispanic and 8% Asian. The teachers are 92% white.
Two parents at the school, located in Staten Island’s Eltingville neighborhood, said they had heard rumblings about some controversy over books. But Gothamist was unable to confirm who led the effort that led to the books being tossed.
An unusual book battle
School controversies over books are rare in New York City. Since 2019, there have been only three challenges of books at other schools under an official protocol that involves the formation of a committee of parents, librarians, teachers and administrators, the education department confirmed. None of those books were removed.
“Should a parent feel concerned about the literature in their child’s classroom, they are encouraged to reach out to the teacher, principal, or superintendent,” said Brownstein, the department’s spokesperson.
It’s more common for discussions in the city to focus on ensuring access to the materials. The Brooklyn Public Library runs a program where local students talk about controversial books with students in other parts of the country where they’re actually being banned.
Alissa Barakakos, a PTA member at PS 55, said she was surprised that books about race, culture and sexuality had been removed — and that she would have opposed the effort if she’d known about it. She noted her son’s class just finished a series of discussions on Black History Month, and a unit on Native Americans.
“I don’t know why the books would be thrown out,” Barakakos said. “I want my kid to be a part of the school community where everything is open and honest and kids are being educated.”
Spiegel said she was upset to see the books were kept from children. “The books aren’t getting into the hands of kids who would identify with the characters, but they’re also not getting into the hands of kids whose worldview would be broadened by reading about people who aren’t like them,” she said.
‘Mosaic’ problems
Some of the boxes Spiegel retrieved were labeled “Mosaic,” the name of a $200 million initiative launched late in the de Blasio administration to diversify school lessons and materials. An analysis by the New York City Coalition for Educational Justice found in 2019 that only 16% of elementary and middle school books were by authors of color.
“Black Panther: The Young Prince” was also removed from the Staten Island elementary school.
Holly Spiegel
De Blasio called for a total rethinking of the K-12 curriculum with an eye toward diversity. Mayor Eric Adams then scaled back the Mosaic plan, launching his own literacy initiative and supplementing lessons with materials reflecting LGBTQ+, Asian American and Black communities.
Thousands of Mosaic books were still sent to school and classroom libraries. But Natasha Capers, the director of the Coalition for Educational Justice, said schools received little guidance about what to do with the new books.
“They just were like, ‘here’s a big box of books,’” said Capers, whose group advocates for more equity in public schools.
She added that she was glad to know the books found with the garbage at PS 55 were “rescued.” But she said she was outraged to hear they had nearly been discarded.
“I watched my children throughout their schooling read so many books that used horrific language about Black people,” Capers said. “There’s a book [that] used the N-word. You just had to suck it up because it’s part of the ‘canon.'”
She scoffed at the apparent discomfort with witchcraft and human skulls in the Black Panther book.
“You read Shakespeare, and [“Macbeth”] starts out with three witches around a cauldron,” she said. “Hamlet,” she noted, “is legitimately talking to a skull.”
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Jessica Gould
Jessica is the education reporter for WNYC and Gothamist. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Jessica reported on the shutdown and reopening of the nation’s largest school system, highlighting the unprecedented impacts on learning, health and mental health for students, staff and families. Got a tip? Email jgould@nypublicradio.org
Brad Kutner / Radio IQ
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Douglas Soule
Scottie's Playtime 