It’s National Library Week, so I’ve been thinking a lot about knowledge and the idea that knowledge should be readily available – for all. An informed populace is crucial to the health of the nation and a bulwark of democracy. The ability to think, to reason, to avoid being fooled, all these notions are tied to reading and easy access to the wisdom of the ages.
And this is exactly why libraries – and their contents – are under siege these days.
HuffPost’s Jennifer Bendery recently told readers:
“Librarians are living in constant fear. They have become the targets
of Republican politicians and far-right groups like Moms for Liberty
Liberty that are hellbent on burning books about LGBTQ+ people,
people of color and racism. Some librarians are quitting their jobs
because of constant harassment; others are getting fired for
refusing to clear shelves of books that conservatives don’t like.”
If that’s not bad enough – and it is – Bendery informs us there’s another evil twist in the tale: “The GOP’s censorship campaign has shifted from book bans to legislation threatening librarians with jail time.” Idaho’s tried several times to enact such legislation; this February, West Virginia passed a bill “making librarians criminally liable if a minor comes across content that some might consider obscene.” Idaho, Iowa, Alabama, and Georgia are also considering various means of keeping books they don’t like off the shelves...and they’re not alone.
The American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom shared some frightening statistics: “The number of titles targeted for censorship at public libraries increased by 92% over the previous year, accounting for about 46% of all book challenges in 2023; school libraries saw an 11% increase over 2022 numbers.”
Given these ever-more-frequent, ever-more-strident attacks, what can a concerned reader do to stem the tide of book-banning?
PEN America, an organization whose mission “is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible,” offers a number of ways to make one’s voice heard. Whether you’re a student, a parent, an author, or a librarian, PEN America provides advice, assistance, and resources to keep you informed and ready to push back.
The need to support the nation’s libraries is more urgent than ever. In Bendery’s HuffPost piece, American Library Association President Emily Drabinski draws a chilling conclusion: “What gets lost in conversations about book banning is that it’s really about eliminating the institution of the library, period. It’s not about the books. Well, it is about the books, but the books are the way in to gut one of the last public institutions that serves everyone.”
“You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture,” Ray Bradbury once said. “Just get people to stop reading them.”
Bradbury was one of the 20th century’s finest fabulists, the author of The Martian Chronicles, Something Wicked This Way Comes, and the worldwide blockbuster Fahrenheit 451. Published in 1952, the novel Fahrenheit 451 is set in a future where books are illegal and firemen don’t put out fires – they start them. Printed matter is what they burn.
Bradbury was writing in the tense, paranoid early years of the McCarthy era. But he might as well have penned those words last Thursday.
Support your local library. Speak up for the voices the hate-mongers would shut down. Before – as history’s proven again and again – they try to shut down yours.
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Students fight a book ban by giving away free banned bookswww.youtube.com
The New York Public Library has also weighed in on the matter, you can find its suggestions here.
Chicago Police Officer Found Guilty for Killing Laquan McDonald
Jason Van Dyke shot the black youth 16 times in 2014
A jury has convicted Jason Van Dyke of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald in 2014.
The Chicago police officer originally faced two counts of first-degree murder and was acquitted of one count of official misconduct. Second-degree murder carries a more lenient sentence than first-degree, and Van Dyke could face as long as 20 years in prison or as little as probation. Each aggravated battery conviction carries prison time from six to 30 years.
With jury deliberations starting Thursday afternoon, the verdict was reached midday Friday after approximately 7½ hours. In closing arguments, jury members heard a prosecutor claim that Van Dyke had no regard for the black teenager's life, while the defense framed the situation as tragic, but not a murder.
Assistant special prosecutor Jody Gleason told the jury that according to testimony by his partner, Van Dyke was already considering shooting the youth on the drive to the scene.
"Laquan McDonald was never going to walk home that night," Gleason said. "You heard what it was that he said, 'I guess we'll have to shoot him.'"
Tiffany Van Dyke, the wife of Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke, listens during the trial.
Van Dyke is the first Chicago officer to be charged with first-degree murder since 1980. While police reports originally did not find the shooting an incriminating offense, dash-cam videos released by the city in 2015 sparked protests, and the courts ordered Van Dyke be held without bond on murder charges.
The video was approximately six minutes long and appeared to show the 17-year-old McDonald running down the middle of the road while Van Dyke, standing next to his SUV, opens fire, striking the teen sixteen times and killing him.
Chicago officials had been preparing for potential demonstrations following the release of the verdict Friday afternoon. Police said they had plans in place to "ensure public safety" while at the same time "protecting the rights of peaceful demonstrations."
Family members of McDonald in the courtroom included Rev. Martin Hunter, the victim's great uncle who acts as a family spokesperson, among others. Tina Hunter, McDonald's mother, was not in court for the verdict.
Demonstrators gathered outside the courthouse erupted into cheers after the reading of the verdict. "Thank you, Jesus!" one woman shouted. Others chanted, "Justice! Justice! Justice!"
Joshua Smalley is a New York-based writer, editor, and playwright. Find Josh at his website and on Twitter: @smalleywrites.
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