My profound thanks to my colleagues on all their excellent work this year. Here is a non-exhaustive list of our appearances in print and television this year. Well done advocates! KSDK - February 2022 https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/education/aclu-missouri-file-suit-against-wentzville-school-district-book-ban-the-bluest-eye/63-65f9c4e8-cb79-4a26-805b-2c1d9ec360ab St. Louis Post- Dispatch - June 2022 https://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/books-and-literature/library-group-again-implores-wentzville-school-board-to-stop-banning-books/article_12c41756-63b1-5e69-b645-a1af44551151.html#tracking-source=home-the-latest Independence Examiner - July 2022 https://www.examiner.net/2022/07/09/end-school-library-censorship-and-address-the-damage-it-has-done/ KOMU - August 2022 (https://www.komu.com/news/state/new-missouri-law-will-ban-sharing-visually-explicit-materials-with-students/article_97717864-2493-11ed-9871-bb4c9247515f.html) St. …
Letter to Parkway School District- September 30, 2022
Jeff Todd- Board President Parkway School District 455 N.Woods Mill Road Chesterfield, MO 63017 jtodd3@parkwayschools.net cc: Dr. Keith Marty- Superintendent kmarty@parkwayschools.net Dear Mr. Todd and Dr. Marty, We were asked by members of your community to write on behalf of students, teachers, and librarians in your district. Your recent effort to remove a series of …
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Banned Books Week Statement from the MLA-IFC
In honor of Banned Books Week (Sept 18-24), the Missouri Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Committee would like to clearly state our position on SB 775 and related actions by legislators, administrators and school board members. On behalf of our members and readers across the state, please join us in resisting attempts to undermine intellectual freedom. …
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Letter of Support for MASL
This letter was drafted to support the Missouri Association of School Librarians and their letter from earlier this week. August 11, 2022 Dear Readers, The Missouri Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Committee stands in solidarity with The Missouri Association of School Librarians (MASL) in their opposition to pre-emptive removal, censoring, and labeling of library materials. We …
Letter to Independence School District from MLA-IFC
Thanks to Casey and other committee members from the Independence area for doing the lion(ess)' share of the work on this particular letter. No kid has ever been traumatized by reading about a fictional enby character, but plenty of LGBTQ+ kids have been traumatized by systematic erasure, and being rejected by intolerant adults in their …
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Wentzville: Bechdel’s Fun Home
This past month, Wentzville school district has again decided to remove items from the collection based on the complaints of a vocal minority. The Intellectual Freedom Committee drafted this letter to make clear our pressing concern for intellectual freedom and free inquiry, as well as the well-being of LGBTQ+ youth in particular in this case. …
