October 3rd 2023.
It is a sad reality that Texas is second only to Florida in the number of books banned from school districts. 625 books have been banned in Texas, compared to a staggering 1,400 in Florida. To combat this, a project called The Banned Wagon: A Vehicle for Change has been created by PEN America, Little Free Library, Penguin Random House, and The Freedom to Read Foundation.
The Banned Wagon is scheduled to make a stop at Third Ward’s Kindred Stories, a bookstore owned by Terri Hamm, on October 7th. The event promises to be filled with fun and freebies, with a DJ, tote bags, "swag" items, pizza, and more. The goal of the Banned Wagon is to bring books to communities that are most affected by book bans.
The fight against book bans has been ongoing in Texas. Harris County recently passed a resolution to turn their public library system into a book sanctuary, joining 2,828 other sanctuaries across the country. The resolution emphasizes the need to protect the freedom to read, pointing out that Texas is leading the nation in challenging and removing books in 2022 and 2023.
On September 1, Texas House Bill 900 also took effect. This act requires book sellers to rate books based on references to sexual content, and books that are deemed 'sexually explicit' are taken off shelves. Smaller bookstores that sell books to schools at a reduced rate are threatened by this act as they could face fines if they cannot keep detailed records of every book they have ever sold to libraries. Elizabeth Jordan, general manager of Nowhere Bookshop in San Antonio, is one of many voices speaking out against this act. She believes that it puts too much responsibility and liability on bookstores and that this could result in fewer books in school libraries.
The Banned Wagon: A Vehicle for Change is an important step in the fight against book bans in America. It is scheduled to make a stop at Kindred Stories on October 7th, and everyone is invited to attend!
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