Banning books in public schools has become one of the GOP’s latest crusades. Governor Ron DeSantis has led the charge to ban a wide array of books in Florida on diversity, American history, slavery, and so much more. Florida’s “Stop WOKE Act” even outlaws teaching that could make students “feel guilty or responsible for the past actions of other members of their race.”1
This is a wholesale attempt to stop public education about America’s history of racism and injustices, the diversity of our society, and the communities that make this country what it is. GOP governors across the country are following Desantis’ lead. And so is House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
McCarthy and the House GOP passed a bill in March, H.R. 5, that is part of a nationwide right-wing effort to police teachers and remove critical parts of history and literature from public education.2 The Senate must stop it from becoming law.
Sign the petition to the Senate: Save public education from right-wing book bans. Block passage of H.R. 5.
"It is a whole new level of fear."3 This sentiment, shared by the president of a Florida education nonprofit, is about fear that kids won’t get the education they need. It’s also about fear that DeSantis’ Florida law could leave teachers or librarians who violate the book banning law with a third-degree felony, which are punishable by up to five years in prison.
H.R. 5 would require public access to what books are available in schools and details about what is being taught in the classroom. As NBC News put it, this bill marks the House GOP’s "foray into culture war battles taking place across the country over what is being taught in public schools."4 Republican aims are clear with this legislation: to limit student exposure to different cultures, identities, and histories.
Banning books about our history and diversity completely goes against freedom and democracy. These bans are a continuation of a right-wing attack on the freedoms of LGBTQ+ people, people of color, Indigenous communities, and so many others. It’s all about a GOP agenda of hate, discrimination, oppression, and exclusion.
DeSantis’ dangerous Florida laws cannot be nationalized by McCarthy, McConnell, and the extreme GOP.
Add your name: Protect teachers and librarians. Let public education serve our kids. Block nationwide right-wing book bans.
Sources:
- New York Times, “Florida at Center of Debate as School Book Bans Surge Nationally,” April 22, 2023.
- National Education Association, “NEA: McCarthy Pushes Forward Banning Books and Censoring History,” March 23, 2023.
- New York Times, “Florida at Center of Debate as School Book Bans Surge Nationally,” April 22, 2023.
- NBC, “House passes the GOP's Parents Bill of Rights measure opposed by Biden,” March 24, 2023.