By Brooke Migdon, Photo: Unsplash, The Hill, February 7, 2022
Two Missouri groups are teaming up to deliver copies of challenged books to parents and students in the state free of charge. The initiative comes as books across the country — pertaining mostly to race, gender identity and sexual orientation — are challenged for being what some consider sexually explicit or inappropriate for young readers.
The Banned Book Program, launched by the nonprofit In Purpose Educational Services (IPES) and the bookstore EyeSeeMe — both based in St. Louis — was created as a response to the growing movement to ban books in public schools. Through the program, copies of one challenged book per month will be shipped to Missourians who request it.
“In recent times, school districts have increasingly faced efforts to ban the books used in classrooms and school libraries. These books are often the works of people from historically-excluded identity groups in an effort to suppress the inclusion of diverse stories in our educational institutions,” reads a statement on IPES’ website. “We believe that this is censorship that removes the rights of ALL parents to make educational decisions for their children and for students to explore diversity of thought, knowledge, and experiences.”
Comments (0)