PEN America joined the ACLU of South Carolina, Authors Against Book Bans, EveryLibrary, along with authors, teachers, librarians, students, and civil rights activists today in calling for an end to the South Carolina Department of Education’s statewide book bans.
During a virtual press conference, participants spoke out against a new, overly broad book banning regulation from Superintendent Ellen Weaver’s S.C. Department of Education, which has led the State Board of Education to outright ban 7 books from all public schools in the state, regardless of grade level.
Video of the press conference is available to stream or download here.
South Carolina’s Board of Education is now entering round 2 of its book purge thanks to Regulation 43.170, a blanket ban on books containing descriptions of “sexual conduct.” For well over a year, South Carolina students, teachers, and parents warned the board that this policy would open the floodgates for mass book bans from pro-censorship groups.
On Tuesday, December 3, at 1 p.m., the board will meet to decide the fate of two more books: the 8th grade English textbook HMH Into Literature and Crank by Ellen Hopkins. Livestreams are generally available via the S.C. Department of Education website either here or here. The Instructional Materials Review Committee has recommended restricting access to Crank only to students whose parents or guardians sign an opt-in form.
Hopkins spoke at the press conference about the messages she has received from young readers who picked up her novel and learned about the dangers of drug addiction.
“I’ve received over the years literally thousands of messages like that one in support of the book, telling me that the book turned them away from that path or gave insight into a loved one’s addiction or even encouraged them to become drug counselors or social workers. Many of those people found that book in their school libraries or classrooms,” said Hopkins, author of Crank.
“Regulation 43.170 insults the students, parents, and educators of South Carolina,” said Josh Malkin, advocacy director at the ACLU of South Carolina. “It assumes that our students cannot think critically. It assumes that our parents cannot make decisions for their own children without feeling the need to make decisions for all South Carolina youth. It assumes that our educators are not the caring, thoughtful experts that they are.”
“It is demoralizing for teachers to be treated as if they don’t have the professionalism to know what’s best for students. It is also striking that the books most recently attacked include Bronx Masquerade and The House on Mango Street, both of which can only have committed the crime of being about people of color,” said Nicole Walker, board member of South Carolina for Ed, an advocacy group.
“Authors Against Book Bans stands unequivocally against this sweeping and short-sighted attack on our freedom to read. The readers, particularly the young ones, in South Carolina deserve so much better than this,” said Maggie Tokuda-Hall, a national leader of Authors Against Book Bans.
“Just as advocates, librarians, and educators warned, Regulation 43-170 is now being used to ban books,” said Madison Markham, Freedom to Read program assistant at PEN America. “Unsurprisingly, the books banned and under review by the Board of Education are titles we have seen repeatedly targeted for censorship nationwide through damaging efforts to restrict what young people can read and learn.”
“Poll after poll, including EveryLibrary Institute’s 2023 study, ‘Parent Perceptions of Librarianship,’ show that the majority of Americans strongly oppose book banning and have a high level of trust in librarians to select books that meet the needs of all students,” said John Chrastka, executive director of EveryLibrary. “Contrary to the narratives of those who wish to remove books from shelves, parents across America value librarians’ roles in our communities and our children’s education. Simply put, book banners are out of step with the common sense views of most Americans.”
“For students like me and my fellow DAYLO members, who believe in the transformative power of books and in the principles of our Constitutional rights, the actions of the State Board of Education have now become a cautionary tale in how not to be servant leaders in a democratic society. But this story is still being written, and if public support for students’ rights to read freely becomes strong enough, then there is still time to craft a better, more empowering and inspiring next chapter,” said Mary Ruff, Beaufort High School DAYLO chapter vice president.
“One practical effect of implementing regulation 43.170 is the de-professionalization of school librarians in South Carolina. This regulation strips individual school districts’ and parents’ local control over instructional materials and places full control in the hands of Superintendent Weaver, the five board members who comprise the Instructional Materials Review Committee, and just one person who submits a challenge form,” said Jamie Gregory, president of the South Carolina Association of School Librarians. “As school librarians, our focus remains on serving the reading and information needs of all students in SC public schools, yet our concerns and suggestions continue to be ignored.”
Author Elana K. Arnold, whose novel Damsel was banned statewide on Election Day, issued the following statement:
“Book bans harm the very children and teens they purport to protect. Literature gives us stories and information so that we might understand ourselves and the wider world. A reader is in a powerful place with a book: with a book in their hands, they are in charge. They can read it if they choose; equally, they have the power to set it down and walk away. When someone makes that choice for readers by banning a book that has been included in a library’s collection by an educated, trained library professional, they rob readers of their freedom and cheat them of an opportunity to engage safely with information and art. Armed and empowered by experiences and information they encounter in books, those same readers will have the language to understand what’s happening in the great big world outside of them, and inside of themselves, as well.
“Readers deserve free access to books. They have a first amendment right to freedom of press. Those who aim to take away their books, who are stripping their libraries and book collections, are thieves of art, culture, information, and liberty. I stand in solidarity with the librarians, teachers, parents, and educators who acknowledge that our duty is to the freedom of information, the art of literature, and the protection of young people’s access to the full library collections to which they are entitled.
