#united against book bans

[butch-librarian]

Visit the United Against Book Bans website to access resources on how to take action to prevent and combat book bans, whether through direct action and protest, social media campaigns, or to donate to support librarians facing backlash in the defense of intellectual freedom

#united against book bans #book bans #library censorship #book banning #right to read #right to read day #intellectual freedom #libraries #librarians #support libraries

[brandyschillace]

Librarians Unite for Representation

Public Library Association slogan this year ‘Free People Read Freely.’ Together we unite against book bans and promote representation.

#Unite against book bans #cozy mystery #autistic author #books #british mystery #autism #right to read #authors #books & libraries #public libraries #librarians

[edinapublishers]

#unite against book bans #american library association #ownvoices #book recs #diverse books #queer books #queer authors #poc authors #black authors #latine authors #trans authors #protect queer kids #protect trans kids

[hecatesdelights]

#banned books week t-shirts #unite against bookbans #banned books #education matters #controversial t-shirts #book bans #censorship #access freely #freadom

[jumbledcardigan]

Public comment period has opened for proposed vague Missouri Book Ban Law

Comment period has opened for the proposed vague MO law that would allow anyone to challenge access to books and undermines the professional judgment of librarians.

Libraries that do not comply will lose funding, which will lead to their likely closure.

MO Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft said he did not have a librarian or a library representative help with drafting the proposed rule. He said the policy was inspired by conversations he had across the state with Missourians and librarians about book challenges.Utterly appalling.

If you are a MO resident you have thirty days from Nov 15th to write or email to comment on this proposed law.  

Comments may be submitted to the Secretary of State’s office via email at [email protected] or by traditional mail to Office of the Missouri Secretary of State, P.O. Box 1767, Jefferson City, MO 65102.

Comments submitted via email must include “15 CSR 30-200.015” in the subject line https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/comment-period-opens-on-missouri-secretary-of-state-s-book-ban-proposal

#Book Bans #Unite Against Book Bans #FReadom To Read #Missouri Libraries #Missouri LIbrarians #Book Banning

[peregrinuscreative]

Daniel W. Uhlfelder might have said it best with, “You can’t ban books, and be for freedom at the same time.” So do your Patriotic Duty and read more banned books. Considering some of the titles that are listed there, you’re bound to find something you’ll enjoy too.

#booklover #banned #banned books #read banned books #patriotic #Unite against book bans #freedom #freedom of the press #freedom of speech #freedom of expression #i want you #I want you to read #read #reading #read more #uncle sam #bookworm

[brandyschillace]

RIGHT TO READ and UNITED AGAINST BOOK BANS

Censorship threatens our right to read—and that threatens us all. Books lift us, connect us, inspire us; they make us question, research, and make our own choices. We can’t let that be taken away. I’m a historian who writes about the Nazi book burning—about how censorship was used to take away the rights of #transgender #lgbtq and minorities, resulting in attacks on #immigrants, Jews, homosexuals, #women, trans, Romani, and #disabled people. It’s not many steps from banning books to burning them—so: Make you voice heard! Today, I’m participating in #RightToReadDay with other authors, readers, and community members across the country. Safeguarding our freedom to read requires all of us - learn how you can take action:

Learn more from Unite Against Book Bans and join the campaign!

#right to read #unite against book bans #support trans rights #transgender #disability rights #immigrants #women #book banning #author #writer #mystery #history

[wednesdayshadow]

Ban book bans

#banned books #read banned books #FReadom #unite against book bans #let freedom read day

[always-coffee]

WV Libraries Are Under Attack: How to Help

News came out yesterday that West Virginia House passed House Bill 4654. This would remove “bona fide schools, public libraries, and museums from the list of exemptions from criminal liability relating to distribution and display to a minor of obscene matter. …”

Potentially criminalizing librarians is bad, and it’s straight out of the fascist playbook. “Opponents of the bill said that while the bill does not ban books, the bill would have unintended consequences for public and school libraries, resulting in increases in challenges to even classic books and attempts to criminally charge librarians over books not pornographic in nature, but books that include descriptions of sex. They also said it could result in improper criminal charges against library staff,” Steven Allen Adams writes.

So, the question is: now what? What do we do? Where do we go from here?

If you live in West Virginia, call you state senate reps. You can find them listed here.

It’s okay to keep your message short:

“Hi, I’m [full name] calling from [ZIP code], and I’m a constituent of [Senator Name]. I am calling to voice my opposition to Bill 4654, because this is a dangerous step toward book banning. It could potentially harm librarians and libraries, which is incredibly wrong. Do not back this dangerous bill.

You can also ask how many people have called to voice their opposition to this bill. This may annoy the person on the phone, but they technically have to answer you. They may be evasive anyway. But you can either give them your contact information and tell them you’d like a call back or you can call back again later and ask for the tally.

The thing is, people rarely call in. A handful of calls is considered a lot, and the best thing you can do right now is make yourself a nuisance. Good trouble, etc.

Only call if you live in West Virginia, because they do not count calls from those outside their constituency. I am obviously not an expert, but if you have additional questions, ask them and I’ll try to help. I learned way more about how politics work during the last presidency than I thought humanly possible.

Additional resources:

#libraries #librarians #book bans #civic duty #speak up #west virginia

[reasonsforhope]

"For the first time in almost 60 years, a state has formally overturned a so-called “right to work” law, clearing the way for workers to organize new union locals, collectively bargain, and make their voices heard at election time.

This week, Michigan finalized the process of eliminating a decade-old “right to work” law, which began with the shift in control of the state legislature from anti-union Republicans to pro-union Democrats following the 2022 election. “This moment has been decades in the making,” declared Michigan AFL-CIO President Ron Bieber. “By standing up and taking their power back, at the ballot box and in the workplace, workers have made it clear Michigan is and always will be the beating heart of the modern American labor movement.”

[Note: The article doesn't actually explain it, so anyway, "right to work" laws are powerful and deceptively named pieces of anti-union legislation. What right to work laws do is ban "union shops," or companies where every worker that benefits from a union is required to pay dues to the union. Right-to-work laws really undermine the leverage and especially the funding of unions, by letting non-union members receive most of the benefits of a union without helping sustain them. Sources: x, x, x, x]

In addition to formally scrapping the anti-labor law on Tuesday [February 13, 2024], Michigan also restored prevailing-wage protections for construction workers, expanded collective bargaining rights for public school employees, and restored organizing rights for graduate student research assistants at the state’s public colleges and universities. But even amid all of these wins for labor, it was the overturning of the “right to work” law that caught the attention of unions nationwide...

Now, the tide has begun to turn—beginning in a state with a rich labor history. And that’s got the attention of union activists and working-class people nationwide...

At a time when the labor movement is showing renewed vigor—and notching a string of high-profile victories, including last year’s successful strike by the United Auto Workers union against the Big Three carmakers, the historic UPS contract victory by the Teamsters, the SAG-AFTRA strike win in a struggle over abuses of AI technology in particular and the future of work in general, and the explosion of grassroots union organizing at workplaces across the country—the overturning of Michigan’s “right to work” law and the implementation of a sweeping pro-union agenda provides tangible evidence of how much has changed in recent years for workers and their unions...

By the mid-2010s, 27 states had “right to work” laws on the books.

But then, as a new generation of workers embraced “Fight for 15” organizing to raise wages, and campaigns to sign up workers at Starbucks and Amazon began to take off, the corporate-sponsored crusade to enact “right to work” measures stalled. New Hampshire’s legislature blocked a proposed “right to work” law in 2017 (and again in 2021), despite the fact that the measure was promoted by Republican Governor Chris Sununu. And in 2018, Missouri voters rejected a “right to work” referendum by a 67-33 margin.

Preventing anti-union legislation from being enacted and implemented is one thing, however. Actually overturning an existing law is something else altogether.

But that’s what happened in Michigan after 2022 voting saw the reelection of Governor Gretchen Whitmer, a labor ally, and—thanks to the overturning of gerrymandered legislative district maps that had favored the GOP—the election of Democratic majorities in the state House and state Senate. For the first time in four decades, the Democrats controlled all the major levers of power in Michigan, and they used them to implement a sweeping pro-labor agenda. That was a significant shift for Michigan, to be sure. But it was also an indication of what could be done in other states across the Great Lakes region, and nationwide.

“Michigan Democrats took full control of the state government for the first time in 40 years. They used that power to repeal the state’s ‘right to work’ law,” explained a delighted former US secretary of labor Robert Reich, who added, “This is why we have to show up for our state and local elections.”"

-via The Nation, February 16, 2024

#michigan #united states #us politics #labor #labor rights #labor unions #capitalism #unions #unionize #gretchen whitmer #democrats #voting matters #right to work #pro union #workers #workers rights #good news #hope

[ellebeauregard]

Happy New Year!

I thought this year was a slog, until i sat down and listed all the good things that happened. Then I realized it wasn't a slog, I just grew a lot. And growth is almost never comfortable. More about it in this week's blog!

Can you believe this year is nearly over? Well friends, there are about a million trillion posts to be found on the internet this week, wishing you a happy new year, and here I am adding to the pile. But I just couldn’t let this moment pass without saying THANK YOU for this incredible year. I recently wrote down all the awesome things I did/happened to me over the last 12 months and the list…

View On WordPress

#2023 #authors giving back #charitable donation #cloves syndrome community #happy new year #new year reflection #unite against book bans

[hecatesdelights]

#banned books #book bans #banned books week t shirts #access freely #freadom #unite against bookbans #censorship #public libraries #oppression #bookish #booklr #bookworm #education matters

[jumbledcardigan]

Tell Missouri School Boards and Districts to Reverse Overzealous Book Bans

There has been a massive purge of books with visual depictions in Missouri since August. You can view a full list of known books that have been pulled here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1AVW8q-B4uSZIJ3mLqc5tY8DZyojI1KLIVBQzSCb7lbg

Sign PEN America’s open letter to Missouri School Districts who have overzealously reacted to the new law here:

https://actionnetwork.org/forms/tell-missouri-schools-to-reverse-overzealous-book-bans

#BookBans #UniteAgainstBookBans #FReadomToRead #BookBanning #book Bans #Unite Against Book Bans #FReadom To Read #Missouri School Libraries #MissouriLibraries

[neil-gaiman]

As you know, books are companions that make one feel less alone.  They help us to know the greater world, to envision what we want our world to look like, to perceive the old in new ways, to work through grief, to know joy, to question norms, to be horrified, to direct rage, to have hope.  And so many of the books that allow for all of this are the ones that are being banned. 

Please keep doing what you do.  And please share these resources (or others that you know of) so that those who may want to do more have guidance. 

The Author's Guild: Stop Book Bans Toolkit - www.authorsguild.org/resource/stop-book-bans-toolkit/

Pen American: The Freedom to Write - www.pen.org/issue/free-the-books/

Unite Against Book Bans - www.uniteagainstbookbans.org

ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom - www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/bannedbooksweek/ideasandresources/activity

Great resources!

[zvaigzdelasas]

AUUC('s Edmonton Branch) released a statement on the Volunteer Nazi given a standing ovation in Canadian Parliament, read it

[x]

transcription after the cut

The Edmonton Branch of the Association of United Ukrainian Canadians (AUUC) condemns the honoring of a nazi Ukrainian World War II veteran, a member of the notorious 14th Waffen SS Division "Halychyna", in the House of Commons during the visit of Ukrainian President Zelenskiy last Friday, 22 September, 2023.

Our Association, founded in 1918 in Winnipeg as the Ukrainian Labor Temple Association, has an unblemished record of opposing fascism, in word and deed, before and after WWII, in Canada, in the Ukrainian-Canadian community, and abroad. Our members fought heroically in the Spanish Civil War, on the side of the Republican government, against fascism. They fought for Canada, allied with the Soviet Union, against nazi Germany and fascist Italy in WWII.

It is therefore unbelievable to us, as to most other Canadians, that when the individual in question, Yaroslav Hunka, was introduced in parliament as a Ukrainian veteran of WWII who fought against Russia, no one in attendance, all of whom gave him two standing ovations, realized what this meant. We know exactly what it meant.

Now this shameful spectacle has been publicized to all Canadians, and throughout the world. We welcome this publicization. We hope it will lead to a reckoning. Some steps in this direction have already been taken. The speaker of the House of Commons has resigned. An endowment in the name of Yaroslav Hunka at the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, at the University of Alberta, has been returned. We welcome these steps. But they are only first steps. Much more must be done. The problem is greater than simply one nazi, one speaker, and one endowment.

It is estimated that two thousand members of the 14th Waffen SS Division "Halychyna" were allowed into Canada after WWII. Our Association, immediately at that time, publicized and opposed their entry, to our everlasting credit. This figure does not include other nazis and nazi-collaborators, of various nationalities. That means thousands of Yaroslav Hunkas. Several of them went on to occupy prominent and leading positions in certain other Ukrainian-Canadian organizations, in religious institutions, educational institutions, and state institutions. The Canadian state supports, with funding and semi-official recognition, Ukrainian-Canadian organizations that unapologetically honor these nazis. If honoring Yaroslav Hunka in the House of Commons was a shameful act that had to be corrected, then so must all these other cases be corrected.

We therefore call on the Canadian state at all three levels (federal, provincial, municipal) to halt all state funding to all Ukrainian-Canadian organizations which honor any Ukrainian nazis or nazi-collaborators, including especially veterans of the 14th Waffen SS Division "Halychyna", until such time as these organizations explicitly and unequivocally apologize for having done so, severing all connections with all these nazis and nazi-collaborators, in all forms whatsoever.

We call for the removal and dismantling of two monuments to nazi Ukrainians in Edmonton: the monument to the veterans of the 14th Waffen SS Division "Halychyna" located in St. Michael's Cemetery, and the bust of Roman Shukhevych located at the Ukrainian Youth Unity Complex, preferably by their respective property owners, and if not by them, then by state compulsion.

We call on the government of Canada, and on the Liberal Party of Canada which formed the government at the time, to issue official apologies to our Association (the AUUC), in consultation with our Association, for banning it (then named the Ukrainian Labor-Farmer Temple Association) by an order in council in June 1940, seizing its properties, our halls and their contents (furniture, musical instruments, dance costumes, books, etc., most of which were destroyed), and interning our leaders in internment camps, acknowledging this as a terrible miscarriage of justice and act of oppression.

We call on all Canadians, all progressive Canadians, all decent Canadians, all anti-fascist Canadians, individually and through their various organizations, to support us in these calls for justice, by publicizing this statement, and pressuring their political representatives.

[richincolor]

It's Banned Books Week!

While this isn't really a week to celebrate because censorship and the suppression of diverse voices is never okay, this is a week to lift up the work of educators, librarians, authors, book publishers, anyone who has a hand in making sure everyone's voice is represented in the books we love. The past few years have seen an increase in school boards across the country banning books in classrooms and libraries. The most egregious, to me, has been the removal of classroom sets of books in Florida. The ALA released early data on the number of challenged books for 2023 so far and its heartbreaking. The data reveals that, "Between January 1 and August 31, 2023, OIF reported 695 attempts to censor library materials and services and documented challenges to 1,915 unique titles - a 20% increase from the same reporting period in 2022, which saw the highest number of book challenges since ALA began compiling the data more than 20 years ago. The vast majority of challenges were to books written by or about a person of color or a member of the LGBTQIA+ community." (https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/book-ban-data) I don't know about you but this makes me want to fight even harder.

So, what can you do? The ALA provides an cool list of ways you can get involved not just this week but all year round such as volunteer at a library, speak out at a school board meeting, join organizations such as Unite Against Book Bans, purchase and share banned books, and even attend some of the events this week. Check out this page (Banned Books - Get Involved) for more detailed information about how you can help. 

Starting today the ALA is hosting a few events that you can gain insight and inspiration. I'm looking forward to Banned Books Week Honorary Chair LeVar Burton's talk tonight at 8pm EST (5pm for you Cali folk like me) and a roundtable discussion titled "A Seat at the Table: Youth Advocates on Fighting Books Bans" by students leaders doing the hard work on Thursday at 8pm EST/5pm PST. Click on this page (Banned Books - Events) to get more information. 

Lastly, Saturday, October 7th is Let Freedom Read Day where the ALA is asking us all to commit to doing at least one thing to help fight against censorship and support those on the front line. On their page (Let Freedom Read) is a list of actions that you could do on Sunday (or any day really), but for me, personally, please send love to a teacher or librarian because we could really use the support. Just saying "I'm there for you" or maybe donating a book to a teacher's personal classroom library would go far in the fight against censorship.  If there is any time to give back to those who promote literacy and representation for all, this is the week to do it. 

#banned books week #weneeddiversebooks