...Republicans in several states have launched efforts to ban books pertaining to race and LGBTQ+ issues from classrooms, while some legislatures are pushing to introduce laws which would ban teachers from discussing homosexuality. Other states have already banned discussion of the modern-day impact of historic racism in the US.
It is a situation that has no parallel in America's recent history. And in an interview with the Guardian, Stephanie Nossel, CEO of PEN America, a non-profit organization that works to protect freedom of expression in the US, said the efforts to censor education, in particular, fit in with a wider attempt by conservatives to influence society...
...While classroom censorship has become an eagerly embraced hobbyhorse for conservatives, there is little evidence that a majority of parents are demanding more censorship in the classroom or demanding more influence over what their children can read, or be taught.
A CNN poll in early February found that only 12% of Americans believed parents "should have the most sway over which library books are on the shelves and how American history is taught"...
It is a situation that has no parallel in America's recent history. And in an interview with the Guardian, Stephanie Nossel, CEO of PEN America, a non-profit organization that works to protect freedom of expression in the US, said the efforts to censor education, in particular, fit in with a wider attempt by conservatives to influence society...
...While classroom censorship has become an eagerly embraced hobbyhorse for conservatives, there is little evidence that a majority of parents are demanding more censorship in the classroom or demanding more influence over what their children can read, or be taught.
A CNN poll in early February found that only 12% of Americans believed parents "should have the most sway over which library books are on the shelves and how American history is taught"...