banned books

Facing restrictive school policies, Union County students organize LGBTQ Pride rally

BY: - May 26, 2023

This weekend students in Union County will hold a youth-led LGBTQ pride rally in Waxhaw. The Saturday event, which will kick off June’s Pride Month early, comes as students and parents in Union protest school policy changes by the Union County Board of Education they say target marginalized student groups. Earlier this month the board […]

As NC legislators target “obscenity,” the nation’s top librarian has her say

BY: - April 26, 2023

Members of the House Judiciary committee passed legislation Tuesday that would increase the severity of punishment for intentionally disseminating obscenity while knowingly in the presence of minors. The ‘Prevent Harm to Children’ act (Senate Bill 579) would increase the penalty from a Class I felony to a Class H for violations. The brief conversation in […]

House Republicans revive ‘academic transparency’ legislation in budget proposal

BY: - March 30, 2023

The North Carolina House budget proposal calls for a 10% pay increase for teachers over the next two years, but would have to work harder for the extra money under a substantive provision that would require “Academic Transparency.” The House budget bill would require teachers to prominently post, course materials, lessons plans and supplemental materials […]

Monday numbers: As national conservatives target schools, a look at the new wave of book banning

BY: - March 27, 2023

Last week the U.S. House passed H.R. 5 -- a federal “Parents Bill of Rights” that's part of a conservative wave of similarly named legislation that targets books and speech on topics like race, gender and sexuality in schools and would compel teachers and school staff to out transgender children to their families.

Rep. Virginia Foxx

GOP bill establishing a federal parental bill of rights passed in U.S. House

BY: - March 24, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans on Friday passed a bill designed to empower parents to inspect books and other teaching materials in local public schools, but Democrats sharply criticized the measure, saying it would censor teachers and ban books. The legislation, called the Parents Bill of Rights, passed on a 213-208 vote. It would codify federal […]

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A display of banned books

Weekend humor from Celia Rivenbark: Would-be book censors need to chill out

BY: - March 18, 2023

A few years ago, I wrote a book called “You Don’t Sweat Much for a Fat Girl.” It was a “New York Times” bestseller, and I’ll always be convinced the in-your-face title was the biggest reason. Today, the folks obsessed with protecting the world from anything remotely funny or colorful would change that title to: […]

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Weekend humor from Celia Rivenbark: A few books not to give this Christmas

BY: - December 17, 2022

While I love to give books as holiday gifts, I have a new rule, as Bill Maher might say and it’s this: I will never buy a book written by someone who served in the Trump administration and NOW wants to talk about how awful and destructive he was. For $28.95 plus tax. Instead of […]

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The angry grandmother’s “Twelve Banned Books of Christmas”

BY: - December 12, 2022

All y’all know I love to read, I always have and one of the joys of owning a bookstore was recommending books to customers of all ages. Once someone discovers the pleasure of escaping mentally with a great book, that wanting to read never goes away. This grandmother is stunned to learn that some of […]

An ‘unprecedented flood’ of book bans engulfs U.S. school districts, PEN report says

BY: - September 20, 2022

WASHINGTON — More than 1,600 book titles across 32 states were banned from public schools during the 2021-2022 school year, with the bulk of the ban requests coming from a handful of right-wing groups pushing for censorship of books that feature LGBTQ+ characters and characters of color, a new report issued Monday said. “What I […]

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Weekend humor from Celia Rivenbark: Questions for the pharmacist

BY: - September 10, 2022

Am I the only person who thinks it’s weird when the clerk asks if you have any questions for the pharmacist? Just once, I’d like to say, “OK, I guess so. Let’s see. OK, got one!  Why is it that even though I work hard for the money (kidding!) I still can’t quite bring myself […]

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The best op-ed of the weekend: Some simple truths about the Bible and school book bans

BY: - August 22, 2022

In case you missed it, be sure to check out the fine op-ed that Mick Scott of the Winston-Salem Journal contributed to his paper and its Greensboro News & Record twin over the weekend. The subject: schoolbook censorship, including the temporary decision of a Texas district to pull The Bible from school library shelves. As […]

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What are book bans really about? Fear

BY: - April 21, 2022

More years ago than I really care to count, the children’s librarian in my little town in rural northwestern Connecticut, apparently tired of my endlessly renewing the same book over and over again, pressed a copy of “The White Mountains” by John Christopher into my eight-year-old hands. Mrs. Bullock was her name. She was the […]