Here we go again!
“It’s déjà vu all over again”
In the immortal words of the great American philosopher Yogi Berra, “It’s déjà vu all over again” with regards to the banning of books. All over the country there are efforts –some successful – to ban books, that is, to remove them from school libraries, classrooms, and curricula.
Credible sources (e.g., PBS, NPR, New York Times, American Library Association, etc.) report that over the last few years school districts in many states (one report says in over half of the U.S. states) have banned – or opened investigations that could lead to bans of – more than 1,100 books. And that may be a conservative figure. The American Library Association reports that in 2022, more than 2,500 different books were objected to, compared to just 566 in 2019, and PEN America reports that there are currently 1,586 book bans or restrictions currently in place across the country. Whatever the exact number, that’s a lot of banning … a lot of books.
The nature, or source, of complaints resulting in book bans is also changing. In the past, it was an individual parent or other community member who complained, and the complaints focused on a particular book. Now, the complaints are coming from elected officials – to be precise, Republican elected officials in, not surprisingly, mostly Southern states who were part of the treasonous Confederacy that declared war against the U.S. And they target an entire genre of books for purely political reasons – and all too often, racist reasons.
Dime con quien andas … (Tell me whom you’re with…)
Many of us grew up hearing the adage – uttered by our parents, grandparents, or other elders – “Dime con quien andas y te digo quien eres” (Tell me whom you’re with, and I’ll tell you who you are). Here’s a sampling of the company the Republican book banners choose to be in:
* The Spanish Inquisition banned books by Jews and / or about Judaism.
* Stalin’s Russia (aka Soviet Union) banned books that did not promote communism and / or that discussed democracy, capitalism, or anything else the soviet leadership did not like.
* The Nazis banned books by Jews and / or about Judaism.
* The Jim Crow South – at the insistence of groups such as the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC), United Confederate Veterans (UCV), Ku Klax Klan – banned books that told the true story of the Civil War …
* The Taliban and other fanatical Muslim groups and governments banned any book that, in their estimation, did not promote Islam favorably or that depicted Muhammad in a manner they did not like.
* The Puritans – the folks who carried out the Salem Witch Trials – banned books that critiqued Puritanism or Puritan-driven political policies or structures.
I could go on, but you get the point.
The Puritans – the folks who carried out the Salem Witch Trials – banned books that critiqued Puritanism
These were not passive, innocuous book bans. As a result of these bans, innocents, including children, died horrible deaths – they were tortured to death … were hanged … were burnt at the stake … were gassed.
How can anyone who has even a smidgen of self-respect, an iota of humanity, a dab of decency get in bed with the aforementioned amoral monsters? This goes double for the so-called evangelicals who – in total opposition of the Christian faith they claim to believe in – stand with Trump and his minion book banners (one ban actually bans the Bible on the basis that it is “pornographic”). They are an embarrassment to the true, genuine believers. They sully the very faith they claim to profess.
To their everlasting shame…
My home state of Arizona and my hometown of Tucson opted to swim in the book banning sewer.
Non-MAS teachers in the district could use the banned books (and could teach “The Tempest”)—only MAS teachers were prohibited from using the books.
In 2010, Arizona passed a law outlawing the teaching of Mexican American history, literature, etc. The Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) then deemed that Mexican American history and the teaching of that history to be illegal and dismantled the Mexican American Studies (MAS) curriculum. Shortly thereafter, TUSD personnel went into the MAS classrooms, while classes were in session, to confiscate books and teaching materials—including wall posters—having to do with Mexican Americans and/or that deal with topics that are banned (e.g., civil rights) from MAS classrooms. This included Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” which explores the issues of morality, fairness, and oppression, topics that were “illegal” in the context of Mexican Americans in Arizona and TUSD.
Of course, we, the Mexican American / Chicano community and allies (teachers, community groups, civil-rights activists, etc.), fought the state law and book ban on many levels: we spoke at school board meeting, we rallied and picketed, we confronted the people who promoted the state law and book ban, we wrote letters to the editor and op-eds. A group of students and parents sued in federal court, alleging that the dismantling of the MAS curriculum constituted a civil-rights violation.
Racism: the parent of the contemporary book bans…
Make no mistake – racism is the parent of the contemporary onslaught of book bans. In the Arizona-Tucson case, The book ban was selective. Non-MAS teachers in the district could use the banned books (and could teach “The Tempest”)—only MAS teachers were prohibited from using the books and from teaching “The Tempest.”
In 2017, a federal judge – in response to a lawsuit brought by MAS students – ruled that the law outlawing MAS in Arizona was unconstitutional because it was enacted and enforced with racial animus and was discriminatory.
The contemporary book bans are based on legislation that bars school curriculums from including the study of racism and inequality.
The contemporary book bans are based on legislation that bars school curriculums from including diversity and equity topics, such as the study of racism and inequality and themes relating to sexuality and gender identity. Thus, the following cannot be taught: slavery and how Southern states waged war on the U.S. so as to preserve slavery … the atrocities of the KKK and others during the Jim Crow era in the South … the Civil Rights movement for voting rights, etc. … the heroic work during WW II of the Navajo Code Talkers … the murderous “Trail of Tears” during which over 51,000 American Indians were torn from their homes and forced to march, under horrendous conditions, over 1,000 miles to Oklahoma and in which over 15,500 perished, and so on, and so on.
We can, and should, beat back the MAGA right-wing fanatic book banners. After all, they are a minority – and a small one at that – of the country. These battles are fought at the local level. And we need to remain vigilant. As noted above, here in Arizona we won the big and very important MAS fight. But then, like a thief in the night, after four years of being out of office, the Chief book banner Tom Horne was elected back to his old position of State Superintendent of Public Instruction. No doubt we will have to fight the good fight, re: book bans, all over again.
In the ultimate analysis, when it comes to history, one doesn’t have to be a Christian – or religious at all – to relate to St. Paul’s advice to the Corinthians: “For we cannot oppose the truth, but must always stand for the truth.” (2 Corinthians 13:8-9) c/s
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