Authors Against Book Bans (or, Who is this country for?)

In yesterday’s news post, RF left off the list of the groups fighting the book bans an important group: Authors Against Book Bans.

RF apologizes for the omission.

They are a “group of authors [note—anyone supporting books in any way can help] organized to protect and promote the freedom to read on both the national and local levels. Our aim is to create a network of authors to work in conjunction with a variety of national level organizations, as well as grass roots freedom-to-read organizations on a state-by-state level, for an effective, coordinated response against book bans and other threats to the freedom to read.”

They “stand united against the deeply unconstitutional movement to limit the freedom to read. We unequivocally support the availability of diverse voices on our library shelves, in our schools, and in our culture. Our concern is not only for the books themselves, but for the children, families, educators, librarians, and communities that suffer when the freedom to read is challenged and taken away. The great power of literature is its ability to create empathy, foster self-empowerment, imbue knowledge, and enhance diversity of thought. We will defend this power from those who seek to subvert it.”

Of course, this fight is about more than the freedom to read. It is about the freedom to BE. It goes to the very heart of the American experiment—whether this country will fulfill its promise to allow everyone self-development, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, or let the constraints and the “mind-forg'd manacles” of a minority circumscribe the lives of the many.

One reason to work in a library is that we “contain multitudes.” Even the most rigid of would-be book banners would find something to like on our shelves. We ask only that we be able to make responsible choices about the other books they might find, and that the great, glorious, and vital diversity that is our country be represented. Don’t tell us what not to have. Tell us what you might want as well. To those who will work with us, we offer open doors. To those who would subvert our fundamental value of the freedom to read, we offer defiance and the promise to defeat you in the courts, in the media, in the federal legislatures, and, yes, in the libraries.

Thanks to all those supporting Authors Against Book Bans. May your books find places in readers hands, devices, and libraries.