“Walk the corner to the rubble that used to be a library. Line up to the mind cemetery now. What we don’t know keeps the contracts alive and movin.’ They don’t gotta burn the books; they just remove ‘em.”
I was listening to that bar from Rage Against the Machine’s “Bulls on Parade” over the weekend thinking of how apt a descriptor it is of conservatives’ present-day assault on intelligence — both academic and emotional. It’s a rapped reminder that ignorance is a valuable tool oppressors can use to sedate and confuse the masses they wish to control.
The more conservatives try to hide the history of America’s racist past, the more they add to it.
As Republican lawmakers push to ban classroom references to racism, sexual orientation and gender identity, and even look to ban some discussions about mental health and emotions, we can all document — in real time — a rabid movement in the throes of an ahistorical tantrum. And as galling as it is to witness, let’s be clear: This is a fight they can’t possibly win. The more conservatives try to hide the history of America’s racist past, the more they add to it.
So I think it’s worthwhile to note when these efforts to ban socially conscious curricula approach shameful milestones.
PEN America, a free speech organization, is out with a new report that found nearly 1,500 instances of book-banning across the United States in the first half of the 2022-23 school year.
According to the report:
During the first half of the 2022-23 school year PEN America’s Index of School Book Bans lists 1,477 instances of individual books banned, affecting 874 unique titles. This represents an increase from the prior six months, from January to June 2022, in which 1,149 instances of book banning were recorded. Over 4,000 instances of banned books have been recorded since PEN America started tracking book bans in July 2021, affecting 2,253 unique titles. Overall, the bans impact 182 school districts in 37 states…
Read the full article here