Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/03/18/book-banning-is-at-a-record-high-in-the-united-states-and-heres-where-its-happening-most.html
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Regarding Illinois:
https://www.ilsos.gov/departments/library/ban_book_bans/news/bookriot-061223.html
Illinois became the first state in the United States to pass legislation to end book bans. Signed by Governor JB Pritzker June 12, House Bill 2789 takes effect January 1, 2024.
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Vote in your local elections. School board members have a lot of power.
It’s annoying how little information there is on who is running sometimes. But there are usually hints about the candidates in their social media, if nowhere else.
The last board member elected to our local district canvassed the neighborhood to spread the word she’s against banning books. It worked- neighbors talk.
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Some Americans hate other Americans for their freedoms and they are working hard to end them, so yes. That’s still a thing.
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Last year, the number of titles facing challenges in public libraries went up by 92 percent to 4,240, and there was an 11 percent increase in challenges in school libraries. As comparison, “only” 190 titles were challenged in 2015.
That freedom of speech thing seems to have got a bit out of hand in the past few years. /s
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I was just about to say that the bizarro difference between Indiana and Illinois is probably due to the fact that in Indiana, it is much more solidly red, so ‘those kinds’ of books already aren’t on the shelves in most communities, whereas in Illinois there’s a huge stand-off between Chicago and much of the rest of the state, so you get angry suburban and smaller town parents who fight against what they fear is Chicago-based school and library book orders.
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I attended 2 different school board meetings where a couple of rabble-rousers were there about a few books in school libraries. They don’t even live in my county (according to someone there), but when I signed up to speak about the books, it was scary. I mean, I was afraid of being harmed for speaking out in favor of letting books be books. I will vote, but no more meetings. I just don’t think this 70 year-old arthritic and lame great-grandmother can handle physical violence. Even the security there looked mad at me.
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Stay safe!
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And now they’re onto stage 2 of the plan:
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