‘The world is watching’: Obama warns that book bans, censorship could cost America
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Washington: Former US President Barack Obama has penned an open letter to America’s librarians for “standing on the frontlines” of the culture wars as book bans reached unprecedented levels over the past year.
Warning that the world is watching, the Democratic stalwart also lamented the rise of books being challenged by people who disagree with certain perspectives, describing the trend as “profoundly misguided” and a threat to democracy.
Former US president Barack Obama.Credit: AP
His comments come as figures from the American Libraries Association show there were 1269 demands to censor library books and resources in 2022 – more than double the year before and the highest number of attempted book bans since the association began keeping records more than 20 years ago.
“It’s no coincidence that these ‘banned books’ are often written by or feature people of colour, indigenous people, and members of the LGBTQ+ community – though there have also been unfortunate instances in which books by conservative authors, or books containing ‘triggering’ words or scenes have been targets for removal,” Obama wrote.
“It’s also important to understand that the world is watching. If America – a nation built on freedom of expression – allows certain voices and ideas to be silenced, why should other countries go out of their way to protect them?”
Among the most banned books in the US is Gender Queer, a memoir by Maia Kobabe about coming out as non-binary; The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, which has been challenged over sexual explicit material, racial themes and “disturbing” language; and Flamer, a young adult book by Mike Curato, which deals with issues such as homosexuality, bullying and self-harm.
While book censorship is not a new phenomenon, the trend has risen recently as the culture wars have escalated. Not only have US school boards become more politically charged, many conservatives are now seeking state and federal and federal office by campaigning against so-called “woke-ism”, pushing back against critical race theory in schools, and framing book bans as an issue of parental control.
In Arkansas, for example, Republican Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders – a former spokeswoman for Donald Trump – has signed a bill that could impose criminal penalties on librarians who knowingly provide “harmful” materials to minors.
In Florida, led by presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis, new laws have made it easier for parents to scrutinise and object to books, and to trigger public reviews to have them stripped from shelves.
And in Iowa, schools will be required to remove any books that contain sexual activity as part of a broader bill that also bans instruction related to gender identity and sexual orientation up to the sixth grade.
Internationally, the trend continues. In 2021, Hungary passed a law banning gay people from appearing in educational materials or TV shows for minors. Russia passed a similar law in 2017.
In his letter, Obama told the nation’s librarians: “In a very real sense, you’re on the front lines – fighting every day to make the widest possible range of viewpoints, opinions and ideas available to everyone…”
“And you do it all in a harsh political climate where, all too often, you’re attacked by people who either will not or cannot understand the vital – and uniquely American – role you play in the life of our nation.”
Obama’s letter gave weight to the American Library Association’s Unite Against Book Bans campaign.
“Book bans harm communities,” the group warns on its website. “Students cannot access critical information to help them understand themselves and the world around them. Parents lose the opportunity to engage in teachable moments with their kids. And communities lose the opportunity to learn and build mutual understanding.”
The former president also appeared in a TikTok video posted by the Kankakee Public Library, from Illinois, which shows him reading a paperback while sipping from a library branded mug.
The video is the first in a series of TikToks the former president has filmed in a bid to bolster libraries across the US and promote acess to books.
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