S1: Welcome in San Diego. I'm Jade Hindman. Today we're talking about how organizations are pushing back against book bans. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. You're listening to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. Last week , the Department of Education dismissed 11 complaints against book bans filed during the Biden administration , calling them , and , I quote , a hoax. Free speech and library organizations are denouncing this and calling out book bans altogether. I'm here with Casey Meehan. She is the director of the Freedom to Read program at Pen America , which tracks the status of book bans across the country. Also with us is Jennifer Jenkins , the deputy director of customer experience at the San Diego Public Library. Casey and Jennifer , welcome to you both. Hi.
S2: Hi. Great to be here.
S3: Hi , Jade. Thank you so much for having me.
S1: Glad to have you both here. So first , how are you all responding to the Department of Education's dismissal of book ban complaints and the rhetoric around them being a hoax ? Casey , I'll start with you. Sure.
S3: Sure. You know , so we are responding the way we have been responding for the last several years. Uh , you know , we , you know , put out a statement. We have some ongoing actions. But ultimately , what we're reiterating here is that this is rhetoric that we have countered since 2021 , this idea that book bans occurring in public schools are a hoax. Um , and they are absolutely not. These book bans are real. And this kind of language from the US Department of Education is alarming. And certainly , you know , very dismissive of the students , their parents , educators , librarians and authors who have firsthand Hand experiences of censorship happening within school libraries and classrooms.
S1:
S2: I think just because , um , you know , an administration states something that is not that is not objective reality does not mean that it should be. Um , well , it's very scary. It's very dangerous because we have been experiencing this on the front lines in the library world and public libraries where I'm located and in and school libraries for years. And I grew up on the East Coast in South Carolina , and I have many colleagues who have actually experienced this firsthand in the classroom and in public libraries. So it's very real. It's definitely happening. And San Diego is really fortunate that we've got we are located in a community that actually champions intellectual freedom and the right to read and access to materials for the community , but the tides tags could. We're not special. The tides could definitely change at any moment.
S1: I mean , so , Casey , each year in America releases a report on the number of books banned during the previous school year. Break that down for us. I mean , what else did you find ? Yeah.
S3: So , um , again , we , you know , we have been tracking school book bans. And , you know , our focus is book bans that are happening in public schools. But certainly , we know much of this movement is mirrored across public libraries as well. Um , but in public schools alone , we have recorded nearly 16,000 instances of book bans since 2021. Um , the last school year where we have a , you know , complete report is the 2023 to 2024 school year , where we recorded over 10,000 bans in that one year alone , um , which was significant , higher than any of the prior two years where we counted book bans. So , again , you know , we have we've really meticulously recorded this movement to ban books. Um , we see access to books being revoked from their intended readers. And oftentimes this is without following , you know , common sense policies. And increasingly we see it following , you know , sensorial legislation that's being adopted at the state level. So we have pretty , pretty comprehensive and rich data on this. And one of the things we often highlight is that our number , although as high , as significant as it is , is likely an undercount. Um , we rely on , you know , public school board minutes or district websites or local journalists who are covering school boards to be , you know , publicly sharing information that we can then use in our own recording. Um , and that's not that's not happening in every district. And certainly there's not a , you know , local beat covering every school board meeting across the country. So we acknowledge , you know , this is it's exceptionally alarming. And our number shows that. And um , it's likely an undercount of the , you know , real reality of what's happening across the country.
S1: What types of books were banned ? most.
S3: Yeah , we see some common themes in the content of the books that are being removed. Um , so again , when we look at the , you know , past three years , overwhelmingly books that have , um , LGBTQ plus representation or themes or , you know , challenged and removed books that talk about race and racism or have characters of color , um , and increasingly for , you know , those older readers , we're seeing books that have any reference to , um , sexual experiences , as well as books being removed that discuss sexual violence and abuse.
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S2: It it is not just a there are definitely attempts to whitewash or to rewrite historical moments , but the top ten , um , frequently challenged or banned books in the nation are books that feature marginalized voices , diverse voices. And that would be folks from the LGBTQ plus community. So it's it's materials that are written by someone from one of those communities or materials that are featuring the stories of those communities. So it's much more than history. It's really there's an attack on the ideas featuring the stories of individuals who frequently have been for marginalized communities , and centering those voices and centering those stories for the purposes of creating empathy and connection , as well as featuring stories that readers can see themselves in.
S1: Casey , I know parental rights groups like moms for Liberty and other conservative organizations are really driving these book bans. What is parental rights activism and why are they really pushing for this and other book ban legislation.
S3: Yeah , I think it's a good question. Um , you know , we see when , you know , we see many groups that are often , uh , pretty well funded , pretty well connected , um , pretty well coordinated across the country espousing parental rights rhetoric , um , and more and more , you know , what they're meaning and what , you know , they're actually beginning to say is like parental control , um , and it's idea that , you know , they will have control over , um , what their student. But really , what all students or all patrons in a public school or public , you know , library have access to and , you know , their set of beliefs is quite narrow. So it's it's it's a narrow ideological control over , you know , a public school or a public library system. And that has , you know , certainly we have seen groups across the country espousing , you know , again , that rhetoric of parental rights , but it certainly leaves out many , many parents , um , and many , many voices and is often driven by , again , a pretty loud minority that's , you know , pretty well funded and pretty well coordinated across the country.
S1: And Jennifer , I see you've got something you want to add to that. Yes.
S2: Yes. So I wanted to say that it's a little it's a little bit different for public libraries because we don't act in loco parentis. We don't attempt to make decisions for our patrons , for our readers , in terms of what content is appropriate for them. So in regards to having access to materials that are placed in the juvenile or the young adult sections , there is still a parent that should be involved in that decision making process for their specific child. And families are different. So we have materials that represent all , all ideologies , all all cultures , all different types of families. And it's it's really misguided to try to control access to those materials because you simply don't have to check it out if that's not right for your family just because it isn't right for your family. Um , that doesn't mean that you get to control the access to those materials for other , other kids and other families. Right.
S1: Right.
S2: And , um , in general , we're very fortunate in the city of San Diego because we have huge support from our advocates and from our local communities who value intellectual freedom and value diverse cultures and access to materials that represent those diverse ideas and cultures. We have definitely tangled with , um , with some , some things in the last few years. Um , the most egregious thing we experienced was a few years ago , there was a campaign called , quote unquote , Hide the Pride. And we had two individuals in Rancho Ito's go to the their branch library there and check out all of the pride books that were on display , because it happened to also be Pride Month in San Diego. Then they sent a letter to our director. Essentially , it was a ransom note letting our director know who they were and why they check those books out. Um , so our local council got involved and our foundation got involved , and we actually raised this , made it to the New York Times. It was in the local news and it was in the national news. And there was so much response from across the nation. People , people sent donations wanting to replace the books , or they sent their words of support for the library. Um , so unfortunately , that caper , um , failed spectacularly because it ended up being a positive for us in the long run. But there are also soft forms of censorship that folks try to that folks tried to do on a day to day basis that are a little more subversive. We've also had patrons go into the stacks and pull specific titles , and use a black marker and cross out words that they don't think someone should be reading or tear out pages of a book because they don't think that portion of the book is appropriate for someone else. So there are all different ways that folks who are in support of book banning and censorship will attempt to to enact that. Even here in San Diego. But in general , we're really lucky because our director is a strong advocate for intellectual freedom , and our local city government is and county government is as well.
S1: Well , you've certainly had to navigate a lot of battles , it sounds like. And those battles continue. Casey , I want to bring you in here. Jennifer just said that currently there are no cases of book bans in San Diego County. I want to take us back to one case that happened last year at Escondido Union. It's something you had Pen America followed.
S3: The information that I have. Is that a , you know , an Escondido. There was a single parent complaint about a book. The school essentially went against their own , you know , review policy and shut down all of their middle and elementary school libraries to then audit those libraries. So again , it was this idea that , you know , all school library services were halted following the quote unquote , discovery of one book , which was alleged to be sexually explicit. We you know , we certainly saw that as a shocking overreaction. Um , and , you know , just really undermining the freedom to read for all students and families in that district and looked for , you know , more of a process that would follow their already established review and reconsideration policies. And that case stands out always for us because it happened during Banned Books Week , which is a national kind of call to action week around intellectual freedom and celebrating books who have been , you know , celebrating the works of books that have been banned in the past. Um , so that is , you know , that is Escondido. And then , you know , we have seen other cases in , um , Chino Valley and Temecula that have also , you know , kind of navigated challenges to books or , um , in Temecula is actually a challenge to a supplemental material for a textbook that mentioned Harvey Milk. And in that case , you know , even Governor Newsom , you know , kind of got involved. And it was a much , you know , a pretty large case , um , where superintendent was fired. Um , and , you know , again , sort of like the the debate over this textbook and the use of and censoring supplemental material that was , you know , at the time mislabeled as like , quote unquote , morally objectionable for having the representative who having included , uh , Harvey Milk. So anyway , just. There are , you know , there pockets. I would say there's , there's a few cases , um , that have appeared over California and to , you know , Jennifer's place there. Jennifer's comment like it does happen everywhere we see real hot spots of censorship. But we do also see where where censorship can pop up , you know , in any given school district.
S1: This is KPBS Midday Edition. We're back after the break. Welcome back to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman , here with Casey Meehan , the director of the Freedom to Read campaign at Pen America , and Jennifer Jenkins , the deputy director of customer experience at the San Diego Public Library. We are talking about how these two organizations are working against book bans. Well , you know , intellectual freedom is something critical to libraries , schools and and learning. Talk about why it's so important to protect that and protect the freedom to read. Casey.
S3: Yeah , I think , you know , Jennifer said it earlier , too. I mean , we look we think about the freedom to read on like so many different levels. You know , first students deserve , you know , to see themselves in materials. They also just deserve to see the world around them reflected. Books offer the opportunity for young people to not only learn about themselves , but maybe learn about others who have , you know , a different lived experience or a different identity and really serve as a vehicle for building critical thinking and empathy and all sorts of , you know , good life skills. And at a broader level , you know , public schools and public libraries really serve our democracy. They are institutions that are intended to offer , you know , public access , free access to information and to a diversity of books and ideas and stories and histories right at their fingertips. So when we challenge and suppress , you know , access to those spaces or to books within those spaces , you know , we do a real disservice to , um , to our democracy and to our , you know , to the essential kind of unification of our very diverse and pluralistic society.
S1:
S2: There are studies that show that reading fiction , particularly reading fiction about people and communities that are different from your own , creates empathy and and does help people build critical thinking skills and the ability to discern what sort of content is right for them as they move forward. So it's a skill that is that that we should trust with the guidance of parents and educators. That we shouldn't fear ideas. We should trust that that children need to learn that skill of discernment , and learn to trust their instincts , and to develop critical thinking and learn about the world around them. And the best way to do that is books.
S1: Well , you know , this is the highest number of book bans we've seen since the 1950s with the Red scare and McCarthyism. What continued challenges do you see under this current presidential administration ? Definitely.
S2: We're we're all very nervous in library land about some of the potential impacts to our funding sources. The Institute of Museum and Library Services is a major federal funder of library programs throughout the country , and we rely on that funding in order to implement a lot of our really impactful programs that serve our communities. Um , so that's something that I think is on the forefront right now , as well as , um , what sort of legal impacts are going to occur , are going to come down from the federal government in regards to how we develop our collections , our policies , um , what's in our control and what's not ? I think there's so many unknowns right now and what those impacts are going to be that , um , that unease , uh , exists mainly because we we don't know what's coming next. But , um , we do have guidance from the American Library Association. We have the freedom to read statement that was actually written during the during the McCarthy era. That is part of the core philosophy of libraries in what our mission is and serving the public. So libraries have actually been doing this for a while , so it's nothing new to us. Um , the main thing is , is , is trying to anticipate and be nimble and be flexible and be ready for whatever the next challenge is.
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S3: I mean , certainly , um , you know , I think funding and the restriction of what is available in the public library space is a biggie. Um , you know , Pen America , because most of our research covers , uh , school book bans. So we've also been following what's happening , you know , over the public school space. So in addition to the Department of Education calling book bans a hoax and dismissing civil rights claims from students and families. You know , we've also followed the , you know , recent executive order , which really attempts to endorse another form of ideological conformity on public education and threaten free expression in our public education systems , too. Um , and much of what we're seeing at the federal level , again , we have already seen um , so we've , you know , we've seen this at the state level. We've seen it across different districts. Um , we're , you know , we've reported on the harmful impacts and the chilling effect of similar policies at the state and district level. So this could be prohibitions on content and materials that discuss gender and sexual orientation , bans on , quote unquote , critical race theory and divisive concepts. Um , you know , these are these are policies and practices already in play that have led to and , you know , sort of escalated the book ban movement to where we are today.
S1: Well , as you both mentioned , libraries and public schools have dealt with book bans for years.
S2: Um , I really question that. That's one of the questions that keeps me up at night. Um , what's the point ? What is the ultimate outcome here if you restrict information and restrict access to to a diverse array of information. And I think ultimately , you know , libraries are a part of the educational ecosystem. And the very idea of public libraries in particular is that an informed populace is necessary in order for , you know , the democracy to to succeed. So in my mind , I feel like there's a real attempt to start with the most vulnerable people in our society , which in this case are children , um , children and youth , and particularly children and youth who have a Bipoc , a black or indigenous people of color , a Bipoc identity or the LGBTQIA+ identity. And I think that that threatens , uh , that threatens a particular worldview. And this attempt at attacking those vulnerable communities and vulnerable readers is ultimately to kind of create a less informed populist , to make it easier to enact other types of policies or initiatives.
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S3: Well , I mean , this really is a fight for for knowledge , for access information , for art , for literature , for history. Um , I do see it as a fight for the future of American democracy , society and culture and , you know , the institutions that safeguard it and those institutions , you know , have historically and currently really are our public schools and our public libraries.
S1: I've been speaking with Casey Meehan , the director of the Freedom to Read program at Pen America , and Jennifer Jenkins , the deputy director of customer experience at the San Diego Public Library. If you want to learn more about book bans and how the San Diego Public Library and groups like Pen America are pushing back against them. Check out our web page at KPBS midday. Casey , Jennifer , thank you so much.
S2: Thank you. Jade.
S3: Thank you.
S1: That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
