An enthusiastic crowd of parents, children, teachers, community leaders and civil rights organizations came together on Tuesday, June 6th at the Sanctuary for Banned Books at Coral Gables Congregational Church to support recently challenged books in Florida. The book giveaway drew a standing room only crowd of more than 500 people.
Event attendees received free bags of challenged books including The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman; The ABC’s of Black History by Rio Cortez and Lauren Summer; and, Love to Langston by Tony Medina and R. Gregory Christie. Books & Books, Miami’s oldest independent book seller, helped organize the event and distribute the books. Due to the generosity of Amanda Gorman, over 1200 books will be distributed for free.
Speakers included Richard Blanco, Miami-Dade County’s Poet Laureate and an inaugural poet himself who read at President Obama’s second swearing in ceremony; internationally renowned writer Edwidge Danticat; Dr. Marvin Dunn, author, historian and founder of the Miami Center for Racial Justice; and representatives from PEN America, ACLU of Florida, National Coalition Against Censorship, United Teachers of Dade, Florida Freedom to Read, O, Miami, and Books & Books.
At the book giveaway, Richard Blanco read Amanda Gorman’s The Hill We Climb from Joe Biden’s 2021 inauguration. Gorman holds the distinction of being the nation’s youngest inaugural poet as well as the first-ever National Youth Poet Laureate of the United States. Award-winning Haitian-American author Edwidge Danticat read Grandma’s Stories from Love to Langston. This book for young readers highlights 14 poems by renowned Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes.
“These book bans go beyond limiting access to Black, Brown and LGBTQ voices and stories,” noted Director of PEN Across America William Johnson in a press release. “They cultivate a culture of shame for queer kids… they cultivate a culture of shame for kids of color.”
Karla Hernandez-Matz, President of United Teachers of Dade, spoke passionately on behalf of local educators. As teachers, she said, “we cultivate critical thinking skills and expand our students’ horizons through the power of reading…We strongly condemn book bans… We condemn the censoring of teachers, the removal of teachers’ rights so that they can’t push back against book bans and censorship…they restrict our students from exploring diverse voices and perspectives, which are essential for the development and the cultivation of a well-rounded education.”
This May, a parent of two children attending the MDPS K-8 Bob Graham Education Center in Miami Lakes filed a complaint that resulted in The Hill We Climb, along with three other books, being removed from the elementary level part of the library. The parent who made the request to remove it had not read Gorman’s book The Hill We Climb, and mistakenly attributed it to Oprah Winfrey.
Amanda Gorman, however, took to social media to take a stand against the ban.
“If you look at the research, the majority of books that have been been banned fall into two camps: either they have characters of color or talk about race in some way or they have characters that are of the LGBTQ community or touch upon those themes in some way,” said Gorman. “And I have to think what messaging that sends to young readers. It’s as if you’re saying ‘You are inappropriate if you are African American. You are inappropriate if you are gay. You are inappropriate if you are an immigrant.’”
Ultimately, Gorman feels, the book restrictions are about “creating a bookshelf that doesn’t represent the diverse facets of America.”
The celebration and book giveaway held at Coral Gables Congregational Church represents pushback against increased efforts to narrow the bookshelves of America’s school libraries and to continue restricting access to books that showcase diversity. During the first half of the 2022-23 school year PEN America’s Index of School Book Bans lists 1,477 instances of individual books banned, affecting 874 unique titles. Florida and Texas lead the nation in such restrictions.
“Book lovers everywhere have been saddened by the book banning in Florida,” said Christopher Finan, Executive Director, National Coalition Against Censorship. “So it is thrilling that 500 of its citizens, young and old, are fighting back–with books! They are encouraging everyone who is working to turn the tide against censorship.”
This is a Hy-Lo News Staff Report.
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