July
18, 2023
Amid
an unprecedented wave of censorship, many of our state legislators have left no
mercy for LGBTQ+ Texans. Censorious legislation like House Bill 900 and Senate
Bill 13 attempt to relate queer identity with sexual obscenity. The bills
target educators’ expertise and diminish students’ right to read in a vitriolic
attack on queer identity, and more broadly, the agency young people wield in
our own education.
Students
are the primary stakeholders in our education, but this legislation is among
the slew of bills nationwide favoring so-called parental rights above those who
learn, teach, and work in schools full-time. Students deserve a seat at the
table in decisions directly affecting us, but these legislative efforts subvert
our authority in life experiences we face daily.
In
a recent survey by the New York Times, “the overwhelming majority of students
were opposed to book bans.” Censorship bills seek to exclude and erase
marginalized identities from the mainstream. Book banning ultimately harms
students, especially when Gen Z is the queerest, most diverse, and progressive
generation in America. Unfortunately, policymakers have an agenda to further
marginalize the already-unheard and traditionally-silenced youth of our nation.
Students deserve better.
Every
student should feel the same comfort and passion I felt as a young child
walking into a community library or bookstore with shelves lined with dynamic
character arcs and magical, faraway lands yet to be discovered. Public school
libraries should serve our diversity, not shutter stories and silence voices.
We cannot spare losing narratives with the power to open our eyes to a world
never before seen – a world that could exemplify the beauty of queerness and
the compassion all could share when united as a community in acceptance and
love.
Books
save lives, and students need increased access to literature, not less. Aside
from student retention or career success, readily accessible books in school libraries
can be a lifeline for students seeking support for how to say “no” in
uncomfortable situations or how to explain our first menstrual cycle. They can
provide insight for how to handle an interaction with police or navigate
ambivalent emotions. Americans routinely face these real scenarios, and our
nation is failing its younger generations when our worth is not valued and our
needs are not met.
Any
effort to limit students’ access to knowledge is an attempt to erase our
narrative as a generation, one that represents our nation’s future. Signed by
Governor Greg Abbott June 12 in Texas, HB 900 will impose a state takeover of
local school district policies, requiring vendors to rate books by their
“offensiveness” to “current community standards of decency” or risk losing
business from school districts.
Policymakers
must not weaponize the status quo by mischaracterizing literature with
subjective politics. Not one of the roughly 30 million Texans may have an
identical view of what defines a “pervasively vulgar” book, but in exclusively
selective committees like those described in SB 13 to review library
collections, just a few parents could dictate decisions of an entire district.
While
proponents of book banning may claim their intention is to protect children,
book bans do not challenge explicit content. They primarily target books
exploring race, sexuality, and gender. Censorship targets authentic, diverse
stories that help youth navigate trauma and discover ourselves.
By
mandating libraries to recognize “parents are the primary decision makers
regarding a student’s access to library material,” these policies impact
vulnerable students while denying us the agency to hold power in the
policymaking.
We
must never forget that reading fosters personal growth and inspires leaders who
drive society forward. Young people, organizing with Students Engaged in
Advancing Texas (SEAT) and other youth-led movements, contributed to the demise
of SB 13. Student organizers developed debate talking points and legislative
amendments that senators proposed against HB 900 during the proceedings.
In
limiting the books students can access, policymakers further narrow students’
views on diversity and inclusion and dim what flourishes beyond the horizon.
Students thrive when robust representation and affirmation can be found in the
books of our school libraries because we come to discover a meaningful
connection to education and our community.
It’s
time students reclaim ownership of our education and our right to read and
learn. We all must pave a clear path for progress in defending our libraries
and educators before it’s too late. Young people depend on leaders who speak
truth to power.
Our
nation ought not to be silent when young people feel obligated to defend our
own rights because we feel no others will.
__________________________________________
Cameron
Samuels (they/them) is a student organizer from Katy, Texas and co-founder of
Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT). Banned Books Week honored Samuels
as its Youth Honorary Chair in 2022 for distributing banned books and packing
school board meetings in Texas. You can hear them discussing the contents of
this article on the recent Project Censored Show on Pacifica Radio.
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