Fighting Back To School Book Bans

GLAAD has issued a new guide that offers tools for responding to the rising wave of censorship that targets LGBTQ books & school curricula including ways to report book bans & discrimination as well as resources for free access to LGBTQ books & materials. The org has also joined two national efforts to fight censorship & the targeting of LGBTQ books: the Unite Against Book Bans campaign & the Banned Books Week Coalition. Sarah Kate Ellis GLAAD President & CEO stated, “Everyone deserves to see themselves reflected in the books they read & at school & that includes LGBTQ students, families & teachers. The increase in book bans & anti-LGBTQ school censorship is disturbing & we all need to come together to protect free speech & to support targeted authors, teachers, librarians & school board members. GLAAD is proud to join the Unite Against Book Bans campaign & the Banned Books Week Coalition to help ensure that LGBTQ voices are not silenced by extremists, whether in classrooms, libraries, or any media.” This comes at a time when a school district in the suburbs of Fort Worth, Texas has demanded that an illustrated version of “The Diary of Anne Frank,” as well as the Bible & dozens of other titles be removed from its shelves & digital catalogues. The “Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation” is a 2019 illustrated retelling of the famous diary from Israeli filmmaker Ari Folman & illustrator David Polonsky. The action comes after conservative activist parents & school board members challenged the content of these books. Objections reportedly included depictions of the LGBTQ community & perceived links to critical race theory.

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