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 forLiberty
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.
8 Things You Didn't Know About Martin Luther King Jr.
The American icon was a complicated man.
Each year, we celebrate the life and accomplishments of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Most people are aware that King was a civil rights leader who fought against segregation and worked to secure voting rights for Black Americans and other minorities. His work helped push the Civil Rights Act of 1964 through Congress and into law.
But there's far more about Martin Luther King Jr. that isn't common knowledge. Here are a few things that have been forgotten over the course of history:
1. King was a strong supporter of democratic socialism.
During the 2016 election, Bernie Sanders brought the term "democratic socialism" to the forefront of American politics. But Martin Luther King Jr. openly supported the philosophy throughout his life. As a child, King saw the bread lines during the Great Depression. "I can see the effects of this early childhood experience on my present anti-capitalistic feelings," he wrote in 1950 while he was a divinity student. King saw capitalism as "a system that takes necessities from the masses to give luxuries to the classes."
2. King's activism went far beyond the Civil Rights Movement.
He also protested the Vietnam War. In 1967, King delivered a speech entitled "Beyond Vietnam," in which he called for the United States to stop bombing in Vietnam. He also argued that American troops should be pulled out of the area and the U.S. should enter into a truce that would lead to peace talks. King viewed the American intervention in Vietnam as imperialism. He was staunchly anti-war and a pacifist.
3. It wasn't until the year 2000 that MLK Day was observed in every state.
While Martin Luther King Day became a federal holiday in 1986, not every state observed it until South Carolina was the final state to recognize the holiday in 2000. Because MLK Day is a federal holiday — not a national one — only federal employees received a paid day off. The holiday was met with resistance when it was first enacted because some felt King was too subversive to receive federal recognition.
4. King had numerous academic accomplishments.
Throughout his life, King's intellect shined in his writing and activism. As an adolescent, he skipped both the 9th and 12th grades. At 15, he entered Morehouse College and eventually received his Doctorate of Philosophy in Systematic Theology from Boston University in 1955. He was awarded many honorary degrees — Doctor of Laws, Doctor of Letters, Doctor of Humanities, and Doctor of Divinity.
5. Over 900 streets in the United States are named after Martin Luther King Jr.
After his assassination in 1968, many cities and states re-named streets in his honor. His name even graces streets in foreign countries. Forty states in America have at least one street named after King. Unfortunately, many of the streets in the U.S. with his namesake often struggle economically. These streets tend to have high levels of poverty and racial segregation in comparison to other streets in their respective cities.
6. He was the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
In 1964, King received the Nobel Peace Prize for his nonviolent resistance to racial prejudice in America. At 35, he was the youngest person to ever receive the award. Alfred Nobel, for whom the award is named, described the recipient of the Peace Prize as "the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses."
7. King was a fan of Star Trek.
The classic science fiction TV show first aired in 1966. Star Trek made an indelible mark on American pop culture and civil rights. The U.S.S. Enterprise crew was composed of various races and nationalities, including Lieutenant Uhura. Nichelle Nichols sought King's advice about whether she should leave the show after its first season. King encouraged her to stay on. He believed that the representation of an African-American woman in a position of leadership on the Starship Enterprise was too important.
8. He was TIME Magazine's first Black Man of the Year.
In 1963, TIME Magazine named King the Man of the Year. That was the same year King delivered his famous "I Have A Dream" speech on the steps of President Abraham Lincoln's memorial. The magazine cited King's essay "Letter from Birmingham Jail" and his leadership of many peaceful protests as justification for the accolade.