Stop book bans! [Sign the petition]

Imagine if your favorite childhood book was banned from your school or library.

Sign the petition: Stop censoring books by LGBTQ+ and racially diverse authors!

Dear MoveOn member,

Another week, another book banned. This week, five more books were banned from the shelves in a Florida school, including "Push" by Sapphire, who was awarded the American Library Association's First Novelist Award and NAACP Image Award.¹ And earlier this year, the same Leon County School District placed the children's book "I am Billie Jean King" under review due to the mention of the same-sex relationship between the history-making tennis legend and her wife.²

This isn't happening just in Florida. Book bans are quickly sweeping the country in states like Texas, Utah, and Missouri, where Republican legislators have passed laws that make it easier to ban books on gender, sexuality, race, and history.³

The diversity of our country should be reflected in the diversity of our bookshelves in libraries, schools, and classrooms. But right-wing Republicans are attempting to erase the stories and histories of entire communities by removing literature by Black, brown, Jewish, and LGBTQ+ authors. Republican governors and state legislatures need to keep their hands and laws off of our books!

Will you add your name to the petition and send a message to governors and state legislatures, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, that the majority of voters oppose book bans?

Support the freedom to read! Add your name to demand Republicans stop banning books from libraries and schools. We can't stand by while parents are being censored and teachers and librarians are punished for doing their jobs.

Imagine if your favorite childhood book was banned from your school or library. That's what we're seeing, with books by Toni Morrison, Judy Blume, Mark Twain, Harper Lee, Alice Walker, and Maurice Sendak disappearing from the shelves.⁴ And now an entire generation could have their would-be-favorite book removed from a shelf, before they even have a chance to read it.

Think we're exaggerating? Earlier this year, a video circulated revealing completely empty bookshelves at a Duval County school in Florida.⁵ See for yourself.

This is not the future we want for ourselves, our families, or future generations. We need to fight alongside educators, librarians, and parents. Add your name NOW to push back against these book bans and demand our governors and state legislators take action.

We refuse to sit on the sidelines. The MoveOn Banned Bookmobile has officially launched and is on the road from Chicago to Florida over the next few weeks, and restocking shelves one book at a time. We'll be giving away free banned books and having conversations with voters about the backward MAGA vision for our country, while providing resources for people to get involved to help defeat the GOP in 2024. And we'll make sure DeSantis's legacy of empty shelves follows him everywhere he goes along his campaign trail.

You can speak out against book bans and make your voice heard from wherever you live by signing the petition. We'll maybe even deliver it to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis himself.

Thanks for all you do. 

–Aliya, Madeleine, Mona, Kelsey, and the rest of the team 

Sources: 

1. "'Push' among five books banned from Leon County high schools," WCTV, July 11, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/177586?t=8&akid=356955%2E53570607%2EX-ulP7

2. Ibid.

3. "State Laws Are Behind Many Book Bans, Even Indirectly, Report Finds," Education Week, May 19, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/177643?t=10&akid=356955%2E53570607%2EX-ulP7

4. "Most Banned Authors of All Time," WordsRated, April 26, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/177644?t=12&akid=356955%2E53570607%2EX-ulP7

5. "Florida Book Bans: Why are there empty shelves in Florida Schools?" PEN America, February 13, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/177645?t=14&akid=356955%2E53570607%2EX-ulP7

You're receiving this petition because we thought it might interest you. It was created on MoveOn.org, where anyone can start their own online petitions. You can start your own petition here.

Want to support MoveOn's work? Book bans have skyrocketed thanks to right-wing state laws which have forced teachers to remove books from their classrooms. In response, MoveOn is launching a "Banned Bookmobile," filling it with books that the far right has banned, and driving it around to hand out those books, for free, in highly trafficked areas that will attract media attention. To keep the Banned Bookmobile up and running into 2024, we need your help. Will you start a monthly gift to power our critical work?

Yes, I'll chip in $5 a month.

No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.

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