Stop Book Banning Campaigns Targeting Schools

Target: Henry McMaster, Governor of South Carolina

Goal: Do not let state’s Board of Education dictate which books are worthy of existing.

The playbook for literary censorship is well-worn. Organized groups like Moms for Liberty (or, more appropriately, against liberty) recruit individuals to file complaints against a long list of books. The lion’s share of these books acknowledge or are written by people of color or members of the LGBTQ+ community. Then, these recruits cherry-pick quotes or cite ratings systems from questionable sources to classify targeted materials as “inappropriate.” As education becomes more politicized, these efforts often unfortunately succeed.

The state of South Carolina is about to put even more power in the hands of these special interests, while stripping localities of their power. Current rules allow parents of schoolchildren to file up to five complaints per month. Under new proposals, even if the complaints are rejected by local school boards and systems, individuals can then take their grievances to the state’s Board of Education. At this point, the state board can essentially overrule local boards and arbitrarily remove texts from school libraries and classrooms. Whether the text ever returns again would be left up to the state board’s whims…or political calculus.

Sign the petition below to demand this state’s politicians step out of the classroom and step up for academic and literary freedom.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Governor McMaster,

Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer, Brave New World, Beloved, The Call of the Wild, The Grapes of Wrath, The Great Gatsby, The Holy Bible: the aforementioned classics represent just a few of the most commonly challenged books in the United States. Under new guidelines set forth in South Carolina, a single person can ultimately dictate whether or not these literary texts (and countless others) sit on a bookshelf or inside a classroom. Allowing would-be book banners to bypass local elected boards of education and take their complaints to the state board bestows inordinate power on the viewpoints of a select few.

Moreover, the power imbalance between the state and its localities grows wider. South Carolina is supposed to be a state that values limited government and liberty, yet these back-room book bans defy both principles. Please reevaluate this decision and truly honor vows to take the politics out of education.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Photo Credit: Kate Graur