The battle over books is taking center stage at the nation’s Capitol. The U.S. House Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties held a hearing Thursday about the ongoing efforts to remove books from classrooms and public libraries.
Book challenges and bans are nothing new, but the rate at which they are flaring up across the country marks a new chapter in the history of attempted book bans. Maryland Congressman Jamie Raskin said the current efforts to ban books are part of a broader attack on free speech in the classroom that amounts to educational censorship.
“Many books are being targeted for censorship these days simply because they address racism or white supremacy as historical or sociological realities or address human sexuality or LGBTQ issues because the protagonist or author is gay or a person of color,” said U.S. Rep. Raskin, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.
National groups are challenging books at a pace not seen in decades. A group called No Left Turn in Education keeps a list of books it says are used to “spread radical and racist ideologies to students,” including Howard Zinn’s “A People’s History of the United States” and children’s book “Chocolate Me” by Taye Diggs and Shane Evans.
The Central York School District had initially prohibited teachers from using a list of materials—books, articles and films—that focused on issues like diversity and racism until the board could conduct a thorough review of the materials: [ Ссылка ]
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