Holocaust book banned (petition)

Please sign the petition telling the McMinn County School Board to overturn its ban on the important Holocaust book "Maus."

Dear Andra,

Tennessee's McMinn County School Board banned the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel "Maus," and there are similar—and more sweeping—book bans, motivated by white supremacist ideology, being introduced by school boards and in state legislatures across the country.¹

When students are denied the resources to learn about the Holocaust and our collective histories, they are also denied the opportunity to learn about resilience and empathy. 

Join over 85,000 fellow MoveOn members urging McMinn County School Board to overturn its ban on "Maus," and help reach 100,000 signers before the school board's next meeting on February 10.

To show the powerful effect books like "Maus" can have, Raz, a member at ParentsTogether, shared their story about how "Maus" helped them understand their family's history and shaped their childhood. Read Raz's story below and sign the petition to reinstate "Maus."

Thanks for all you do.

–David, Sandra, Alexis, Oscar, and the rest of the team

Source: 

1. "Book Ban Efforts Spread Across the U.S.," The New York Times, January 30, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/160273?t=9&akid=316236%2E53570607%2EKJ5cL-

  

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Sign the petition: Don't ban books about the Holocaust!

Dear MoveOn member,

Yesterday was Holocaust Remembrance Day. When I was growing up, the Holocaust loomed large in my family. I knew my grandparents had survived the Holocaust, but I also knew they found it hard to talk about.

In middle school, my mom encouraged me to read a groundbreaking book called "Maus." It's a graphic novel that told the story of how the author's own father had survived Nazi concentration camps. Because it was a graphic novel, and because of the powerful storytelling, it was easy to understand and helped me learn about what my family members had gone through.

Since it was published 30 years ago, countless children and teenagers have learned about the Holocaust through "Maus." So I was shocked to learn that a school board in Tennessee has banned this important book for 8th graders.

Please sign my petition telling the McMinn County School Board to overturn its ban on the important Holocaust book "Maus."

This is the same dangerous thinking that has lead to students being deprived the opportunity to learn about a range of issues including slavery, racism, sexuality and gender-based discrimination in the classroom. Some politicians and other officials want to whitewash history, and prevent students from accessing material that deals honestly and accurately with our grim social history.

When I was a child, we were told to "never forget" the lessons of the Holocaust. But as time goes on, fewer and fewer students are taught about this horrific time in history. A recent survey found that most respondents didn't even know that over 6 million Jews died in the Holocaust.

Some misguided folks like those on the McMinn school board want to deny students the opportunity to learn about atrocities ranging from slavery in the United States to the Holocaust—but those decisions also deprive our communities of important resources to teach tolerance and empathy.

I was 13 when I read this book, the same age as the students in Tennessee. It left a powerful impact on me, and I'm so glad my mom encouraged me to read it. It helped me understand what my grandparents and other families went through, but it also helped me understand how important it is to stand up for human rights and against injustice. These are important lessons for teenagers to learn.

Sign the petition today to reinstate "Maus" and make sure students learn the important lessons of the Holocaust.

Thanks!

–Raz P., ParentsTogether

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