We Win, We Lose, We Don’t Give In
Sunday morning, Gaia Abraxas and I drove to Allentown to visit with the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Lehigh Valley. Author Steve Wiggins, who’s a member of the congregation, had recommended us for the pre-service social hour. I gave a presentation on You’re Telling My Kids They Can’t Read This Book? Then Gaia and I chatted with the dozen early-rising congregants. It was a lively discussion.
As always on this book-tour, I learned a lot. My favorite tale came from a UU member who lives in a retirement community that maintains a library. She and some friends run a Banned Books Reading Group. They wished to create a display in the communal library, but the folks on the library committee felt Banned Books were too divisive. Well, come to find out: these library committee people had already, previously, removed quite a few books which they’d deemed inappropriate.
It turned out this library committee was self-appointed. When confronted about their censorious activity, they resigned en masse.
The library being without supervision, the Banned Books Reading Group leapt into the breach, themselves becoming the library committee!
Now that’s a tale to warm the hearts of booklovers, and I was especially happy to hear it because, just a few days before, I’d heard a book-banning tale, with the opposite outcome.
One of my regular customers had revealed, in conversation at the register, that she’d been a member of her school board for six years, and had faced down book-banning activism by several parents.
She’d then lost re-election, to a book-banner. The school board now is controlled by these people.
So awful. You win some, you lose some.
It hurts.
I hope she runs again. Maybe the parents who didn’t turn out for the last election will figure out their vote—or lack thereof—makes a difference in their children’s lives in school.
***
I have two more panel discussions coming up. On Saturday, April 4th, at 2pm, I’ll be at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, in Amherst, Massachusetts, where for ten years I ran the store. I was happy they invited me, because several anecdotes I use to advance my arguments take place at The Carle. The press release says:
Author and Northampton School Committee member Tiffany Jewell will moderate a panel discussion on book bans and challenges, inspired by Andrew’s book. Panelists include:
Andrew Laties, author, activist bookseller, and co-owner of Book & Puppet Company
Waleska Centeno-Santiago, school librarian at Crocker Farm Elementary School
Alex Gino, author and LGBTQIAP+ activist
Hannah Moushabeck, author and co-owner of Interlink Publishing
That is: this Carle Museum panel is composed of people who’ve spent their lives winning and losing book-banning battles. I’m gonna hear more good stories to use in my personal campaign against book-banning.
Closer to home: Tuesday, April 21st, at 6pm, I’ll be at Bethlehem Area Public Library for a conversation with the BAPL Head of Youth Services, Maria Gerasklis-Long, and author Jordan Sonnenblick—who’s co-chair of the Pennsylvania chapter of Authors Against Book Bans. This group was assembled by library-staffer and poet, Matt Wolf, who’ll be moderating.
Come share your stories! We need to support one another!
