You wouldn't have the same books in a medical college that you would in a seminary, and just because a book is printed doesn't mean that it belongs in a children's library." Last Name. She's the editor/author of (DON'T) CALL ME CRAZY: 33 VOICES START THE CONVERSATION ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH and the editor/author of HERE WE ARE: FEMINISM FOR THE REAL WORLD. Their work is being debased in school board meetings as inappropriate, and biased, unprofessional crowd sourced databases taken into serious consideration for determining what is or is not appropriate material to be allowed in the schools. Book bans and challenges across Nebraska, Batesburg-Leesville Middle and High School (SC) removed. Today, almost two years later, this self-described parental . It is a fabulous conversation, and the final two minutes are especially vital for our cultural censorship culture. Kelly is a former librarian and a long-time blogger at STACKED. In addition to the discussion of the ratings system was the appearance of the three books formally challenged, as well as a number of books weeded from the collection already (including, surprise, Gender Queer). This is taxpayer money already being wasted by these meetings, which have put fear into educators and librarians throughout the state. After affirmative action, are legacy admissions next? Titles in BookLooks earning a rating of 4 or higher then go onto the list of titles which are formally challenged in Brevard. RT @KwikWarren: Shame on @CBSNews for giving Moms For Libertybasically female Nazisplatforms on @60Minutes & @CBSSunday Morning to spew bigoted BS. The individual speaking at that point talks about how they are in the process of finding a system that is more objective in nature. Follow her on Instagram @heykellyjensen. And President Biden seems ready to make library and classroom censorship an issue in the 2024 campaign. To see the rating system used for most of the books listed below, go to https://www.ratedbooks.org/books A basic overview of the rating system is below: 2/5: Teen Guidance-Moderate violence/hate/profanity, non sexual nudity, inexplicit sexual activities, drug or alcohol use, gender ideologies Its modeled after the motion pictures rating system, though on a 1-5 scale. "No one is looking to ban books," Justice toldNewsNation. Those involved with the organization are proud of their involvement. PEN America, the free speech advocacy group, added that Moms for Liberty is one of a range of groups behind a "dramatic expansion" in book-banning efforts in the post-pandemic years. Before the Hamilton County, Indiana, chapter of Moms for Liberty achieved national notoriety this month for quoting Adolf Hitler in its newsletter, it was already at war over education in the schools of Indianapolis' suburbs. One board member then asked about sidestepping policy all together, allowing books to be pulled without needing to go through the lengthy review process. Kelly is a former librarian and a long-time blogger at STACKED. Their pet projects include anticritical race theory and antisocial emotional learning in public schools, book challenges, anti-mask mandates, and other legislation relating to education and COVID-related policies. : This Weeks Book Censorship News, April 15, 2022, No Actions Offered to Librarians to Help With Book Bans From National Org: Book Censorship News, April 8, 2022, Technology for Parent Monitoring of Student Library Use is Being Developed by Follett: This Weeks Book Censorship News, April 1, 2022, Why You Should Read Reviews After Youve Read The Book, Books and Comics for Fans of ADVENTURE TIME | Book Riot, Thisll come as a complete shock, but the Rapid City Area School board, We also reviewed all elementary school libraries and did not find copies of the book in question, she wrote. A parent who doesnt have kids in the Newport-Mesa school district (California) complained about the book, In Fairview School District (PA), a superintendent decided that, Nampa, Idaho, schools you may remember that school board from its removal of 22 titles forever , Local media in my area is not great, so this article is also not great. The Los Angeles Times added that the group "criticizes what it regards as an agenda-driven education system that emphasizes race, gender and diversity at the expense of core subjects." LaVerna in the Libraryalso known as Mary in the Libraryhas groups scattered throughout the country at the state level. The group got its start as a reaction to pandemic-era school lockdowns and classroom mask requirements, as well, Yahoo reported. It is the Moms for Liberty BookLook/BookLooks system. If Trump is guilty, will Republicans accept it? The group grew out of opposition to public health regulations for COVID-19, opposes LGBTQ+ and racially inclusive school curriculum, and has advocated books bans. Two people said the books shouldnt be there at all. Book bans are pretty much the worst, and when it comes to the worst of the worst, the 111-page Moms for Liberty BOOK of BOOKS document, which claims to provide parental guidance for controversial children's books, is beneath the barrel's bottom, somewhere deep in the sewer, under a layer of crust formed by many, many flushed turds. ORLANDO A high school along Florida's Atlantic Coast has removed a graphic novel based on the diary of Anne Frank after a leader of a conservative advocacy group challenged it, claiming it. The Los Angeles Times reported that national groups like EveryLibrary and Red Wine & Blue help "people speak out against censorship at public meetings," while local and regional efforts like Louisiana Citizens Against Censorship have also sprung up. Book Look was originally formed as the Moms for Liberty Library Book Committee, and while Book Looks claims to be unaffiliated with Moms for Liberty, Book Riot uncovered that the organization was actually spearheaded by a Moms for Liberty member. Follow her on Instagram @heykellyjensen. Moms For Liberty claims this is not their system, and they updated their about us page after I reported on them. All of these databases are accessible to the public, with the exception of one, which is very easy to gain access via Facebook. You can sort through them by rating and search by title, and the passages that volunteers highlight are the talking points used in bans. The director of Maury County Public Library (TN) resigned because of complaints over a Pride display. But aided and abetted by legislators across the country, their targeted destruction of public education will continue to grow until those who are committed to First Amendment Rights for all put an end to it. In November, Moms for Liberty-backed school members fired a school board superintendent in South Carolina. challenging school books about Ruby Bridges and Martin Luther King Jr. But what is great is that Downers Grove schools (IL), But the way he did it was he encouraged people to come to come to a library board meeting, and said that the library director had been filling the shelves with Critical Race Theory, LGBTQ topics and other topics. The second page of the letter wherein parents are explicitly told they can opt their students out. Whether the average person, applying contemporary adult community standards, finds that the matter, taken as a whole, appeals to prurient interests (i.e., an erotic, lascivious, abnormal, unhealthy, degrading, shameful, or morbid interest in nudity, sex, or excretion); 2. The link in the comments? The Greenville, South Carolina, city council will not be taking up a censorship resolution that would pull several books from the city libraries. The link in the comments? 06/30/23 2:50 PM EDT, Video & Audio Jenkins . I was suddenly convinced I know nothing about anything. Justice and fellow mom Tina Descovich are the two women behind Moms for Liberty, a group of conservatives that came together in January to fight for parental rights in Florida and has since spread . These two websites look slightly different, but they are the same thing. Filed for an LLC in Florida on April 5, 2022, BookLooks is spearheaded by Moms For Liberty member Emily Maikisch, per filings. As a result of all this, Moms for Liberty "has become a major force in Republican politics," Vice described. In addition to highlighting the books they deem inappropriate, they offer a QR code to their groups own reviews, and they indicate where in Iowa schools the books are located. But what appears to be an objective measure of a books content, mirrored after movie ratings, is anything but. Lets take a look at several of the biggest databases out there, as well as who they are affiliated with. Even though the organizations are clearly tied, they have successfully duped reporters. The group blasted the schools in the district with the title on their page and encouraged others to look for and challenge the book in their districts based on their objective ratings. The Trailer for ARISTOTLE AND DANTE DISCOVER THE SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE Is Here, 20 Genre-Defying Fantasy Books You Won't be Able to Put Down. It makes no sense for anyone with familiarity of how librarians read professional reviews and purchase materials to serve their school communities. He wants, ultimately, the library to stop purchasing books that relate to those topics., Following a controversy over a book featuring a trans main character, a Newbury Park elementary school in California was, A Pride display in Tyler Public Library (TX) was, Speaking of Pride displays, Enid Public library (OK) hosted their first one since they were told they could not have displays. And while the two organizations are separate, they use nearly the same book rating system, have overlapping book reviews, and operate in a seemingly identical manner. This has been a motivating factor in why we do what we do. This is by no means comprehensive, but instead, a way to make sense of where these challenges are coming from and a way to see where book challengers are getting their copy-paste arguments. School board meetings blew up over "critical race theory" and "social emotional learning." A slate of conservative school board candidates endorsed by Moms for . Folks like Stephens, who is the curriculum director of Utah Parents United, a parental rights group closely aligned with Moms For Liberty, are sharing that their ratings system is being implemented already. The new policy allows outside groups to have such displays, In Vinton, Iowa, the public library director left, Theres just such a push of radicals to sexualize everything in our public schools and our public arena, resident Alice Brown said., In Catawba County, North Carolina, several of the 24 books challenged have been reviewed. It will come as little surprise that the local Moms For Liberty group is where this discussion began, and it will be less of a surprise that the Alexanders used the very Moms For Liberty system cloaked as BookLooks (and similarly named sites because there is more than one). Instead, she goes by Penelope. Shasta High School. Yes, racism and bigotry and homophobia are involved, but thats not the real motivation. Books contain ideas, and a society that bans ideas is well on its way to the type of totalitarianism that Moms for Liberty is working to avoid. Theyve not only had several members pull their kids from the public schools and send them to private schoolswhere now theyll potentially be able to get taxpayer money to do just that, thanks to new laws in Iowabut the governor is their partner in it all. RatedBooks and its ilk are affiliated, too, with No Left Turn in Education, as well as stopschoolporn, and several local groups in Georgia, Texas, and Idaho. The Trailer for ARISTOTLE AND DANTE DISCOVER THE SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE Is Here, 20 Genre-Defying Fantasy Books You Won't be Able to Put Down, Launching with moderately good news (its not going to get better from here, though). While there is a direct link between Moms For Liberty and BookLooks, as well as a clear path in what the development is between a review and a formal challenge from the group, what is far less clear is where the books these volunteers are being sourced. Who are 'Moms for Liberty' and why is the group so controversial? @TheDailyShow https://t.co/ystMjVybJs, Eliot Schrefer (@EliotSchrefer) June 8, 2022. Guess what is not included in the booklet, either within the section on The Bluest Eye or elsewhere? But its a full circle of committing and recommitting to the cause of Moms For Liberty and not at all about the books, curriculum, education, or parental rights. The group chooses to ignore their own rights in order to build a case for how they deserve to remove books and curriculum from schools. I had the opportunity to be on a fantastic panel hosted by the ACLU, We Need Diverse Books, and Hachette Publishing last week while traveling. Teacher: 'To censor and ban books is to erase whole parts of humanity'. Prior to now, peer reviewed sources-those created by professionals for professionals-were the standard for books. : Book Censorship News, May 26, 2023, A Bill in Connecticut Would Fund Sanctuary Libraries: Book Censorship News, May 19, 2023, How To Prepare Library Pride Displays: Book Censorship News, May 12, 2023, 2023 Right to Read Bills Under Consideration: Book Censorship News, May 5, 2023, The Next Generation United Daughters of the Confederacy: Book Censorship News, April 28, 2023, Fast-Paced Reads That Made Me Neglect Life, Book Bans are Driving Kids Away from Libraries and Reading. "I've never met a parent who wants a politician dictating what their kid can learn and what they can think or who they can be. The group is "orchestrating harassment campaigns that have left people fearing for their safety," Vice Newsreported. Use this toolkit forhow to fight book bans and challenges, as well as this guide toidentifying fake news. The discussion of the difference between peer reviewed and crowd sourced reviews is addressed. Note that this database goes by both the name BookLooks and the name BookLook; they are different names for the same thing. These are copy and pasted (or, more accurately, plagiarized) in book challenge forms. There is zero hidden agenda here. Among the books Moms for Liberty deemed inappropriate are "Martin Luther King Jr. and the March on Washington" and "The Story of Ruby Bridges," about the Black 6-year-old who integrated a . Book Look and Book Looks are facilitating the book banning process. The latest example: The Tallahassee Democrat reported a Florida teacher is under investigation by state authorities for showing her students the Disney movie "Strange World," which features a gay character. Anonymous volunteers create reports by documenting examples of profane or inappropriate content with their corresponding page number, which are then packaged into easy to understand book content reviews centered around objectionable content. Books are given a rating on a scale from zero to five, with zero being appropriate for all audiences and five being might be arrested for reading at school board meetings., The rating system allows heavily biased right-wing reviewers to disguise themselves as objective arbiters. Moms for Liberty has targeted teachers, administrators, parents, and school board members, orchestrating harassment campaigns that have left people fearing for their safetyand in some cases,. Follow her on Instagram @heykellyjensen. 23 Jun 2023 11:33:06 Heres how theyre doing it: Amy Reeds award-winning YA book The Nowhere Girls was rated by BookLooks/Moms For Liberty as a 4. The book includes inappropriate racial slurs, sexual content, profanity, and vulgar jokes about sex with an animal., This story is paywalled, but the good news out of Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, is that. Instead, shes seated alongside the board, as shes presenting a suggested rating system to the board. She's the editor/author of (DON'T) CALL ME CRAZY: 33 VOICES START THE CONVERSATION ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH and the editor/author of HERE WE ARE: FEMINISM FOR THE REAL WORLD. For books in Utah, the group puts what law the book supposedly violates, and all of this is available in a searchable spreadsheet. Both Ellen Hopkinss Glass and Erika L. Sanchezs I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter will stay on shelves. The BookLook and BookLooks websites are databases of book reviews. There would be further talk, particularly because it would take a long time to go through the current school libraries to label, but this system looked pretty good. It sent seven book reviews to the district in March, and included 17 in a list sent to Brevard . Moms for Liberty chapters have challengedMartin Luther King Jr. and the March to Washington because of photographs of political violence and Ruby Bridges Goes to School because of racist remarks, among other objections. The group, which has quickly become a force in . Moms for Liberty's leaders say some books and topics aren't appropriate for young readers. Buried in the story are. How Should We Feel About Barnes & Noble Now? If youve spent any time reading through book challenges over the last year, one of the groups youve likely encountered by name numerous times and will encounter in the links below is Moms for Liberty. "What we're talking about is curating content in a library. Get Updates. Roughly a dozen speakers, including Schroeder, parents, national activists and state lawmakers, spoke Tuesday against the exposure of children to sexual imagery in books and teacher-led discussions. Co-founders Tiffany Justice and Tina Descovich say their goal isn't to disrupt education but to fight for parents' rights to oversee their kids' education. Books that earn a 4 or a 5 trigger a challenge. We ARE working nationally to have a book-rating system that would give parents to make educated decisions What are we so concerned about? Members of the group have called for the development of an objective rating system that would put an end to books that contain what they believe to be obscene and objectionable content being purchased for libraries. Continue to have these conversations and continue to be open, honest, and unafraid to engage in talking about the sex stuff. Moms for Liberty is a far-right organization that engages in anti-student inclusion activities and self-identifies as part of the modern parental rights movement. It's modeled after the motion pictures rating system, though on a 1-5 scale. It is, in fact, our duty as parents, teachers, librarians and administrators. The Washington Post extensively reported on Book Look and Book Looks without mentioning their close affiliation with Moms for Liberty (although the piece did quote the chair of a local Moms for Liberty chapter praising the groups efforts to prevent children from encountering sexually explicit material). Im not asking us to spend more money, says the board member, but obviously, we need to spend money in the right way.. At the beginning of 2022, several individuals began showing up at school board meetings to complain about books. She's the editor/author of (DON'T) CALL ME CRAZY: 33 VOICES START THE CONVERSATION ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH and the editor/author of HERE WE ARE: FEMINISM FOR THE REAL WORLD. Their challenges begin in Brevard County, Florida, dramatic readings at school board meetings, Fast-Paced Reads That Made Me Neglect Life, Book Bans are Driving Kids Away from Libraries and Reading. Social Emotional Learning: Guide for ParentsSocial Emotional Learning (SEL) has systemically transformed education . Let them stand behind this material and own it if they are not working to get rid of it., Notably, Book Looks website directs parents to links about the anti-LGBTQ grooming smear and articles about Moms for Liberty fighting against porn in schools; it also provides users with anti-transmemes to spread on social media. Moms for Liberty reported $370,000 in revenue in its first year, including contributions of $100,000, $20,000, $15,000, $10,000, and $5,000, according to a federal tax form. Sign up to Today In Books to receive daily news and miscellany from the world of books. A minute later, a board member holds up a book rating sheet, asking if they use that to identify books and whether or not they fit the Florida statues for being allowed in the schools. Follow her on Instagram @heykellyjensen. Hes an amazing interviewer. How Should We Feel About Barnes & Noble Now? Watch where the money flows between and among the politicians proposing the bills and who theyre associated with. This is a sign of the process working, as books like these (and nearly every other book being challenged) do not meet the three-pronged Miller Test criteria for being labeled obscene.. How did Moms for Liberty get its start? By Harrison Cann Since its founding in 2021, Moms for Liberty has had no shortage of attention-grabbing accomplishments, including immediate buy-in from some of the right's fiercest culture warriors; high-profile politicization of previously nonpartisan school board elections; and getting books banned for thousands of students. What is disturbing is how the board members did little questioning of the wheres or hows of the system, and worse, that Alexander seems to have either been in collaboration with the board OR convinced them pretty easily to have this conversation. "I never thought I'd be a president who is fighting against elected officials trying to ban and banning books," he said in April. Moms of Liberty's reach is now far . Unfortunately for the school, the individual won a legal case later this week, Parents are outraged and say they feel disrespected after learning of a sexually explicit book assigned for in-class reading to their freshmen children at Mt. They, too, provide full reports for easy copy-pasting/plagiarism by book banners. BookLooks, which launched in early 2022, says their mission is to write and collect detailed and easy to understand book content reviews centered around objectionable content, including: profanity, nudity, and sexual content. Their goal, to make these reviews available to all parents so they can make informed decisions.. The books on the following list were removed from the library without any review: banned an array of books following their board meeting on January 25, list created by state representative Matt Krause, Its still censorship if it was removed from a library in the district, Lexington-Richland school district in South Carolina, Turns out that members of the board were financially linked to the parent who complained, parental rights legislation in Virginia, A Censorship Language Primer: Book Censorship News, June 30, 2023, 70 Years of the Library Bill of Rights: Book Censorship News, June 23, 2023, How Much Have Book Bans Impacted Author Visits? At the boards April 12 meeting, Alexander and her husband both showed up and discussed inappropriate books. E-mail Address. That is a key part of how well continue to champion stories for young readers who need these books to understand who they are and see the world as it truly is. How Moms For Liberty's Book Ratings System Enters Schools: Book Censorship News, June 10, 2022 Kelly Jensen Jun 10, 2022 Summer is here, and while the actual news of book challenges might slow down, that does not mean the work of those banning books is anywhere near done. The Week is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. But Alexander did not keep herself seated with attendees. Supreme Court rejects Biden's student loan forgiveness plan. While RatedBooks is a standalone website, LaVerna In The Library and her cousin Mary In The Library operate via Facebook. Moms for Liberty, a conservative parents-rights advocacy group that has rapidly expanded since its founding little more than two years ago, flexed its political muscles on Friday as top rivals for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination addressed its national conference in Philadelphia.