Thread by @PENamerica

🧵PEN America Files Lawsuit against Florida School District over Unconstitutional Book Bans

Lawsuit joined by @penguinrandom, parents, and authors asserts that Escambia County School Board unlawfully removes or restricts access to books about race, racism, and LGBTQ identities.

Our lawsuit alleges Escambia County has set out to exclude certain ideas from their school libraries by removing or restricting books, some of which have been on the shelves for years—even decades. Read more here: pen.org/pen-america-v-…

According to the lawsuit, the school board’s removal and restriction of access to books discussing race, racism, and LGBTQ identities, against the recommendations of the district review committee charged with evaluating book challenges, violates the First Amendment.

“In Escambia County, state censors are spiriting books off shelves in a deliberate attempt to suppress diverse voices. In a nation built on free speech, this cannot stand," says PEN America CEO @SuzanneNossel.

“Students in particular deserve equitable access to a wide range of perspectives. Censorship, in the form of book bans like those enacted by Escambia County, are a direct threat to democracy and our constitutional rights,” said Nihar Malaviya, CEO of @penguinrandom House.

NEW: PEN America and @penguinrandom, along with authors and parents affected by book bans, have filed a federal lawsuit against a Florida school district over the "unconstitutional" removal of books from school libraries. publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/in… #BannedBooks #FirstAmendment

PEN America, @penguinrandom House, along with a group of authors and parents, have filed a lawsuit against the Escambia County School District and school board, saying the district violated the First Amendment and the equal protection clause.

Read free: nytimes.com/2023/05/17/boo…

"The lawsuit names 10 books which the school board removed from the shelves, overriding the recommendations of a district review committee, including two written by plaintiffs in the suit, @IamGMJohnson and @KyleLukoff."

Read free: wapo.st/42Ia7xN #IStandWithTheBanned

"We have a group of plaintiffs including parents who are affected, students who are affected, @penguinrandom, a publisher that is affected. And we've come together to say we need the courts to step in and uphold our constitutional rights." @SuzanneNossel npr.org/2023/05/17/117…

PEN America v. Book Bans.

CEO @SuzanneNossel explains why we have filed a lawsuit—along with Penguin Random House and a group of authors, parents and students—to push back against “egregious book bans” that violate both the First and Fourteenth Amendments. #IStandWithTheBanned

PEN America's Nadine Farid Johnson: "The targeted book removals we are seeing in Escambia County are blatantly unconstitutional... The government should not foster censorship by proxy, allowing one person to decide what ideas are out of bounds for all." pen.org/press-release/…

"Leading the suit is the writers' advocacy group PEN America and Penguin Random House, the largest publisher in the U.S. Joining the suit are five authors... and two parents of students currently attending an elementary school in the district" npr.org/2023/05/18/117… #BannedBooks

“We’re going to teach you how to tie a tourniquet in case of an active shooter, but they can’t know that men and women may not be the only option for a marriage license?” says #Florida parent Lindsay Durtschi.

Read free and share:

#IStandWithTheBanned
nytimes.com/2023/05/19/opi…

CEO of PEN America, @SuzanneNossel, joins Morning Joe to discuss filing suit against the Escambia County School District and Escambia County School Board in Pensacola, Florida for removing books related to race and the LGBTQ community. #IStandWithTheBanned

“It’s one thing for you to say, ‘I don’t want my child to read this,’” says Lindsay Durtschi, a mom and plaintiff in the lawsuit. “But if you take it from the library altogether, you’re also telling me that my child can’t read this.” #IStandWithTheBanned
washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/…

"The support is overwhelming for those who do not want books to be banned," @IamGMJohnson tells @AliVelshi. #VelshiBannedBookClub #IStandWithTheBanned

Join us to #FreeTheBooks by taking action and making your voice heard: pen.org/issue/free-the… #IStandWithTheBanned

Help us continue to champion the freedom to write and celebrate essential voices of literature by making an online donation—or becoming a PEN America Member—today! pen.org/fightbookbansw… #FreeTheBooks #IStandWithTheBanned

This is how you fight fascism, by @JRubinBlogger

Read free: wapo.st/43bGFAk #BannedBooks #IStandWithTheBanned