1 month ago
Book Riot
With the new legislative season in full swing, now is a crucial time to write to your representatives. We’re seeing unbelievable numbers of new proposals to outlaw intellectual freedom, to criminalize library workers and educators for providing queer and/or diverse literature to their communities, to ban drag shows (including drag storytimes), and to make being queer or a person of color even harder than it already is. You can track every single bill of concern to the freedom to read here, and you should.
In addition to keeping an eye on that legislation, no matter where you are in the country, you need to write your representatives about the importance of intellectual freedom and First Amendment Rights for all. Right now, there are very few public officials championing these freedoms nor proposing legislation that would further enshrine these rights to those from whom they’re being not-so-slowly stripped. Whether you’re in a state facing book ban laws or not, each letter sent is one more voice added to the chorus demanding for better.
This weekend, spend 15 minutes to look up the person who represents you both in your state government and D.C. You can look up everyone who works on your behalf right here by inputting your full address. Once you’ve done that, you have a couple of options: write to the primary decision makers who represent you, including your state congressional and senate representatives and those senators and congress people working for you in D.C. (so you’d send a few emails) OR choose to contact every single person listed who would be appropriate to reach out to (your local sheriff might not be useful here, but maybe enough emails land in the inbox of a lower-ranking politician or one who represents you at the county level might draw some attention).
Then, you’re going to compose a letter for each individual you’ve identified. But never fear: you don’t even need to do the work to compose the letter. Below is a template you can use. Change details where appropriate, and feel free to add anything else which you feel may be worthwhile. You can cut, too — this is a longer letter meant to help you have handy access to statistics, data, and relevant court cases that bolster your message.
Don’t feel limited here. Set yourself a reminder every other week or every month to reach out. Continue to send these emails periodically, and if you’re invested, make a phone call. You can use the template here as your script. Yes, it’s scary. But what’s a hell of a lot scarier than making a phone call that an assistant answers is not having books on library shelves…and knowing you could have done something to help save the lives of marginalized people blatantly targeted by bigotry.
By signing up you agree to our terms of useYou can save and edit this letter as a Google Document as well.
[Date]
Dear [Name of Individual],
First Amendment Rights are under attack across the country. With ever-rising numbers of book bans, more and more students are losing out on the right to access information in their very own school and public libraries. PEN America reported in July 2022 that over 4 million students lost access to books in their schools; that number has only increased substantially, thanks to coordinated efforts to ban books happening both on the local level and national level. Entire states are putting effort to criminalize librarians and educators for having books on shelves.
Only 8% of Americans believe book bans are good. In making decisions for upcoming elections, about 75% of Americans will be bringing the issue of book bans and the freedom to read with them to the polls. And when given the opportunity to opt their students out of books, only 1% of parents elect to do so. The costs of administering a program of opt-outs is costing education millions of dollars in paperwork for something that almost no parent wants and demands to continue these programs will continue to drain education budgets.
Tinker vs. Des Moines in 1968 cemented the rights of students in education; they do not lose their rights simply by being in an educational system. Further, Pico vs. Island Trees ruled in 1982 that public schools cannot remove books from schools because it is a First Amendment violation of students’ rights. Right now, the fight about books in schools is focused on “parental rights,” purposefully ignoring the rights students have to a well-rounded education that teaches them not what to think, but how to think. That is what including books by and about people of color and those from marginalized genders and sexualities does. Not only are young people given windows and mirrors into our globe and the people inhabiting it, but they’re given the chance to talk about tough, challenging topics that encourage them to dive deeper, to do research, to evaluate the sources of their information, and to ultimately become capable and engaged citizens.
The parents upset about books and lessons could solve the issue by speaking directly to their students’ teachers and librarians. They already offer alternate assignments.
Right now, young people’s rights to books, to classroom lessons, and to their own libraries are being destroyed. Right-wing politicians and dark money have created a system wherein more time and effort is being used to placate a small but vocal subset of parents, rather than to ensure students are able to get the education they need to navigate our world. Library workers and educators are being maligned as “groomers” and “indoctrinators” for merely giving students access to information, to books, and to lessons that will help them grow, develop, and think for themselves. These same librarians and educators are removing books from shelves or not buying them at all out of fear for their lives.
[Feel free to address specific examples from your state or community here, with links to stories covered in the media].
As someone with the power to stand up for student rights, for public education, please put this at the forefront of your work. It is happening in our backyard, and it is chipping away at our public institutions. Ensure that books are allowed to remain on shelves by ensuring that First Amendment Rights remain the purview of all and not just those with the most money, most connections, and most to gain from destroying the codified rights of young people.
Please advocate for the rights of all. It’s your job, and we need more people to not just stand up for, but actively reaffirm and uphold, the rights people have to borrow, read, and talk about books, literature, and factual information.
Without good education, without good leadership and access provided to you by libraries and teachers, you would not have made it to where you are. Now it’s time for you to do the same for other young people who want to change the world for good.
Sincerely,
[Your name and address]
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Once you send this letter, then go ahead and send another one via this convenient form from EveryLibrary. Multiple letters from multiple avenues are good.
Then, of course, take a minute to send a letter of support to your local school and library boards. There’s a template for that, too.
