At Florida NOW we value diversity and freedom of thought. Interacting with members from different backgrounds broadens our perspective and allows us to advocate for you effectively. For those reasons, we condemn DeSantis’s continued attack on classroom censorship.
We’re aware that the Florida Board of Education requested all K-12 public schools to identify books in their libraries relating to sex education, social-emotive learning, and diversity. Unfortunately, this aggressive request identifies books to ban in upcoming legislation that will censor our education even more.
Censoring our classrooms prevents teachers from adequately doing their jobs and stunts the growth of our children. DeSantis’ attack on our classrooms is an attack on our children, and we will not stand for it.
We denounce and loudly condemn any attempt to censor our classrooms. Despite DeSantis’s aggressive book-banning witch hunt, we will continue to fight for everyone’s right to equitable and diverse education–especially our children’s.
Florida has gotten rid of books about racial and gender diversity; we believe this is wrong because this will hurt our youth and our society. These books help us understand each other and tell us more about what these individuals are going through in their lives. This makes the children reading these books have an open mind, grow their empathy, accept people for who they are, and experience new cultures and experiences.
Below are resources on anti-racism and a list of banned books in Florida.
1. Anti-Racist resource list in Harvard
2. Books on anti-racist
https://katiecouric.com/news/a-detailed-list-of-anti-racism-resources/
3. Anti-Racist Resources from Greater Good from Berkeley
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/antiracist_resources_from_greater_good
4. Anti-Racist Path from Michigan State
https://inclusion.msu.edu/education/Resources.html
5. All 200+ Books Banned in Florida and What Miami Booksellers Have to Say About It
https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/miami-bookstores-react-to-floridas-banned-books-14296052
6. Books that are banned in Florida schools