We Condemn Threats to the Freedom to Read.

We are readers — individuals, groups, parents, community advocates — who believe that all young people deserve to see themselves reflected in the pages of books, and that individuals should be trusted to make their own decisions about what they, and their families, read. Access to diverse books is essential to a strong education, a free mind, and a functioning democracy. 

We are in the midst of a book banning crisis. Well-funded pressure groups continue to push state governments to impose educational gag orders on teachers and staff and mandate the removal of books from library and school shelves. These laws silence discussions about race and gender in America, isolate and discriminate against LGBTQ+ students and students of color, and cast a long and shameful shadow of censorship across our schools and libraries.

Yet we have the constitution and public opinion on our side. In state after state, federal courts have rightly blocked these discriminatory laws for violating our First and Fourteenth Amendments. Polling repeatedly shows that communities across our country agree that families should decide for themselves what they can and cannot read. Not another parent. Not a politician. These laws are anti-family, anti-freedom, and anti-American at their core. 

Enough is enough.