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
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)
This may be one of the best short videos from a religious leader on why some people get stuff wrong when reading the bible. He explains how the bible shouldn’t be taken literally because it was first oral stories, then written down in one language, then translated over and over, often by people who did not get the exact word means correct. He talks about the wrong idea the bible says life begins at conception. Well worth the listening to even if you are not religious. Hugs. Scottie
To those using the Constitution to justify why we should be living under outdated & archaic laws. The Constitution was created to evolve, you might want to try the same…
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.”
Tagged
BOOKS
EDUCATION
STATEN ISLAND
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
Read the full article. The bill has the backing of the “Christ-centered” anti-LGBTQ hate group, the Kansas Family Voice. Its author is GOP Rep. Susan Humphries, whose bio notes that she is a graduate of Texas Christian University.
I saw this story. I tried to post it from the newspaper but it was impossible. Then I see that Joe My God posted it. So here it is.
The author of the bill is a fundamentalist Christian and graduated from a Christian college. On democrat claims the bill is written too vague by mistake and would basically keep young people from any website that even mentions gay couples / LGBTQ+ information. Dude that is not a mistake it is what they want to use the law for. The goal is to remove any and all positive mentions from anyone under 18 in society. The further goal is to wipe the LGBTQ+ from society totally. The people behind these bills hate that LGBTQ+ people are treated with respect, affection, and equality. They hate that kids accept and like their LGBTQ+ fellow students. The right wants those kids to hate and target any other kid who is different for harassment and harm. Beat and scare those kids straight and cis. Hugs. Scottie
A Kansas bill could consider a photo of a same-sex couple holding hands pornographic, some Democratic lawmakers warn. They say a bill aimed at barring children from accessing online material considered harmful to minors could carry serious unintended consequences for LGBTQ+ communities.
The bill would require users to verify they are over 18 years old to enter any website where more than 25% of its content is deemed “harmful to minors.” It aims to restrict children’s access to pornography. However, homosexuality is listed in the statute alongside overtly sexual acts as harmful to minors.
The statute has raised questions about whether the law could be applied to censor LGBTQ+ content in books, chat rooms, and non-explicit photographs of same-sex couples. Attorney General Kris Kobach, a Republican, would be in charge of determining what is considered obscene.
Read the full article. The bill has the backing of the “Christ-centered” anti-LGBTQ hate group, the Kansas Family Voice. Its author is GOP Rep. Susan Humphries, whose bio notes that she is a graduate of Texas Christian University.
Could a Kansas bill censor non-explicit, LGBTQ+ content? Lawyers, lawmakers disagree https://t.co/XrXtWlLkg0
Funny thing is that we didn’t have access to any websites yet still turned out gay.
I would have loved to have had access to a site like JMG when I was a kid, it would have been so nice to have a supportive community like we have here on JMG
The fascists will go as far as they possibly can, implementing countless anti-LGBTQ laws, before they are pushed back. We still have time before we hit the iceberg but it’s a huge ship to turn around.
OMG…how much happier a struggling, self-tormented teen Mark would have been if there was a site like this, with so many wonderful, intelligent, funny & awesome people to let me know I wasn’t alone and that I would be alright.
In high-school I had a friend who came out to me as a transgender woman. Because this was the early 90’s, while she had come out to her parents who were supportive, she was waiting until she was 18 to go on HRT and living as her true self. One Monday in our junior year, she just never showed up for class. The teachers were told her parents had moved, but the administration was rather cagey when I tried to ask. I hope they had moved to help keep her safe, but I never saw her nor heard from her again. In a way, to me, she’s the sign on the easel. 😿
“They say a bill aimed at barring children from accessing online material considered harmful to minors could carry serious unintended consequences for LGBTQ+ communities.”
How fucking naive can they be? This isn’t an unintended consequence. They want us to be considered legally obscene
For legal purposes the title of this video is a question and not to be construed as a statement of fact. The Nex Benedict story has been tied to Libs of TikTok and its founder Chaya Raichik. Is she to blame? Why does the first amendment protect Libs of TikTok?
Another great video destroying anti-trans propaganda, myths, and misinformation. He talks slow, is methodical, and uses sources he displays and has in his description box to make his points. Often he will go through the studies that the anti-trans people use to show they either did not say what is claimed, are way out of date, used the wrong methods, or simply were created to be used for anti-trans propaganda. He shows not only the bad studies and debunks them, but the real modern medically reviewed and approved studies showing that very few detransition and those that do mostly do so because of negative treatment from society, peers, and family. People who live all their childhood knowing and claiming they are a different gender are not suddenly going to stop saying it at 18 or 21. If they are going to suffer all that mistreatment and hate growing up, they are what they are telling you. Hugs. Scottie
Frank Turek and Sean McDowell make ridiculous pseudoscientific claims about LGBTQ people. Here I debunk them with actual scientific research.
Subscribe using my link for 30% off unlimited access or try it this month for less than $1. Claims I debunk: Abuse and trauma cause non-heterosexuality and gender non-conformity, not affirming queer people is the best way to help them, being gender nonconforming is a social media contagion, rapid onset gender dysphoria is real, gender dysphoria can and should only be treated with therapy or prayer, gender dysphoria is similar to and should be treated in the same way as anorexia, 80% of gender dysphoric youths grow out of it by age 18, medical intervention for gender dysphoria does not help mental health outcomes, and trans s rates skyrocket 10 years after transition.
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Douglas Soule
Scottie's Playtime 