Image – Getty: Brian Niles
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
‘School Districts Are Scared To Be Next’
As reported on Thursday (August 7) by Scott Travis for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, a new rush of book bannings has appeared in the United States, this one prompted by an order of the Florida state education department.
Florida is the third most populous state in the country, and the most recently reported of school-library book-removal actions have occurred among what PEN America reports is nine counties. The Sun Sentinel‘s article indicates that Broward County school libraries were ordered to remove a list of 55 titles from their shelves in a July 24 memo in which the county cited a state board of education order.
“Some state leaders say the books in question are pornographic or have sexually explicit passages that are inappropriate for minors,” writes Travis at the Sun Sentinel. “But critics see this as a way for Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration to ban more books and circumvent state law, which gives school districts the job of determining which books are acceptable for school libraries.”
PEN America points to a state action against Hillsborough County in May, threatening legal action if a school district “failed to remove books with sexual content.” Removal of books after that May incident are reported to have been carried out by Columbia, Escambia, Orange, Osceola, Pasco, Palm Beach, Pinellas, and St. Johns counties.
As Travis reports for the Sun Sentinel, Florida’s house of representatives attempted to pass a bill broadening the definition of “pornographic” material, although that bill “stalled in the Senate and didn’t become law.”
Nevertheless, in Escambia County specifically,” the PEN America report says, there was a unanimous vote in the school system “to permanently remove more than 400 books without review, with one board member stating that they are ‘liable for whatever pornographic stuff is in our libraries.’ Books removed are reported to include I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou and Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut.”
Self-Censorship
The point being made by some at PEN reflects the sort of self-censorship trends that frequently are seen in censorship efforts, as discussed by the International Publishers Association (IPA) in its emphasis on the freedom to publish.
Both the IPA’s dedicated committee on the topic and its Prix Voltaire—which recognizes publishers “who have typically published controversial works amid pressure, threats, intimidation, or harassment, whether from governments, other authorities, or private interests”—have provided extensive coverage of how any part of the publishing industry can find itself adjusting its work because of perceived threats of retaliation. Needless to say, intimidation, especially in the case of state-controlled educational systems, can be just as potent.
William Johnson
PEN America’s Florida director is William Johnson. Looking at the current situation, he says, “School officials pulled these books because the state’s campaign of intimidation had been effective.
“School districts are scared to be next. There is now a frightening shared understanding that if they quietly fall in line, they might stay off the state government’s radar a little longer.
“Unless we speak up at school board meetings, in front of our state representatives, and in our communities, fear will continue to define the future of public education in Florida, becoming the new normal as the freedom to read is trampled.”
A Programming Note
Publishing Perspectives will moderate a program on the “Trinity of Freedoms”—the freedom to publish, read, and to freely express oneself—during Frankfurter Buchmesse (October 15 to 19) at 10 a.m. on Frankfurt Thursday (October 16) on the trade show’s Center Stage, Hall 4.1. The session is open to all trade visitors to Frankfurt.
More from Publishing Perspectives on censorship in the broader context is here, more on the freedom to publish and freedom of expression is here, more on the International Publishers Association is here, more on the freedom to read is here, and more on the United States book industry is here.
Publishing Perspectives is the International Publishers Association’s world media partner.
Wherever our readers are in the world, they use our free daily email to be sure they don’t miss a story. Sign up now.