Civic Engagement

Legal News

PEN America v. Escambia County School District - "PEN America, Penguin Random House, and a diverse group of authors joined with parents and students in Escambia County, Florida, to file a federal lawsuit challenging removals and restrictions of books from school libraries that violate their rights to free speech and equal protection under the law." Why is PRH a Plaintiff? As the world’s largest trade book publisher, Penguin Random House is resolute in its commitment to free expression and protecting the freedom to read. With a mission to create books for everyone, more than 300 imprints, 16,000+ new titles published annually, and brands on six continents, Penguin Random House is home to diverse stories with wide-spanning perspectives and supports their authors in reaching as many readers as possible. Penguin Random House comprises adult and children’s fiction and nonfiction print and digital English- German- and Spanish-language trade book publishing businesses in more than 20 countries worldwide. With more than 700 million print, audio and eBooks sold annually, Penguin Random House’s publishing lists include more than 80 Nobel Prize laureates, numerous Newbery and Caldecott awards, and many of the world’s most widely read authors. Penguin Random House publishes hundreds of authors with banned or challenged books, including plaintiffs in the lawsuit: David Levithan, Kyle Lukoff and Ashley Hope Perez; as well as the late Toni Morrison, who was also targeted in Escambia County’s bans.

Support the Right to Read Act

Contact your representative today and ask them to support the Right to Read Act! Materials to help you share information on this proposed federal legislation:

• ALA Press Release

• Senator Jack Reed (RI) Announcement

• Congressman Raúl Grijalva (AZ-03)'s Downloadable PDF Handout

Community Organizing, Advocacy, and Activism

1. Activist Handbook - An expansive "Wikipedia-like site for everyone to exchange knowledge and experiences about activism." Chapters include curated materials on theory, organizing, strategy, tactics, wellbeing, communication, tools, rights, resources, campaigns, and trainings. Materials available in English, Spanish, French, Italian, Romanian, Dutch, Portuguese, Russian, and Greek.

2. Red, Wine & Blue Parent Playbook - This resource will guide you through the steps needed to organize a group in your community, develop social media messaging, review the best ways to speak up at school board meetings, and run a school board campaign.

3. Run for Something - An organization that will step in and help you run for political office (even local positions), packed with helpful resources.

4. Stand Up/ Speak Up: A Guide for Youth Activists - Developed by the TN ACLU, the booklet is "a tool for young people who want to use their voices to create change in their schools and communities, outlining activism strategies and offering tips on how to overcome challenges and capitalize on opportunities." [Description quoted from source]

5. Toolkit for Organizing Your Community - Developed by Race Forward, this toolkit provides steps for putting together a community organization, guidance on developing campaigns, message guidance, templates, worksheets, and other tools.

Watch Out!

The following Censorship Group Database records organizations across the country that have come together to attack intellectual freedom, and the freedom to read. Despite any spin the groups use to describe themselves, their main target is book banning through censorship. If you know of an organization (whether local, state, or national) that you do not see on this database, please submit it to Kelly Jensen at Bookriot by using THIS LINK.

Guides, Scripts, Messaging, and Communication

1. Advocacy Toolkit: Censorship and Banned Books - Developed by the VA ACLU, this toolkit contains scripts, models, and examples for public commenting at school board meetings, letters to legislators, letters to the editor, model policies, and sample social media posts.

2. ACLU of Massachusetts Guide Document on Public Meetings - ACLUM details techniques for holding meetings with public commenting that remain civil and organized, along with sample instructions and introductory speech text.

3. Be Heard! Protecting Your Protest Rights - Developed by the NCAC, this is a brief primer for K-12 students preparing to protest school policy and/or issues.

4. Book Bans Affect Everyone - Here's How You Can Help - Alex is a librarian with both school and public library experience, an award-winning book critic, and published author. They outline specific steps you can take to push back against ban attempts in your community.

5. The Book-Loving Texan's Guide to the May 2023 School Board Elections - A powerful example by Frank Strong of the ways you can organize and prepare for local elections that have enormous impact on public school education and intellectual access.

6. Book Riot School Board Project - "Thanks to the help of dozens of volunteers and partners, we’re building a massive database of every school board, school board election, and related information for anyone to access. This simple database provides information that is challenging to find in isolation, let alone in a large, collective, searchable, and sortable way. Because this is the work of a small group of individuals with limited time, it is and will be a slow process, but we’ll release information in batches." [Description quoted from the source]

7. Crisis Communication Newsletter - "Hennes Communications’ twice-a-month newsletter, Crisis Management Today, keeps readers informed about the discipline of crisis management with authoritative commentary and best practices from breaking crises in the news." Although targeted toward business and civic organizations, the topics covered by Hennes are essential knowledge for public relations and engagement, including social media tactics.

8. CRT Forward Tracking Project - UCLA's Law School launched a database to monitor anti-CRT measures at local, state, and federal levels with information on the types of institutions targeted, and what the regulations entail. The overwhelming majority of these measures target K-12 schools and higher education.

9. Email Your Reps Online Tool - This tool by EveryLibrary is a quick way to email your representatives. Provides a script and looks up your reps using your zip code.

10. #FReadom Fighters How Tos - A Texas-based organization, #FReadom Fighters provide templates and how-tos for school board speeches, letters to editors, and letters to school administrators. They also include a helpful FAQ section that addresses common parent concerns and questions regarding school library book purchases that you can use when crafting your message.

11. Hawaii Department of Education Student Bill of Rights - A robust and explicit description of the constitutional rights held by U. S. K-12 students, and a great model for other states.

12. How to Fight Book Bans: A Tip Sheet for Students - A step by step guide including a downloadable .pdf that helps students become advocates for their own intellectual and reading freedoms. Particularly powerful is its dedicated section on dealing with the online harassment frequently faced by activists.

13. How to Talk About Book Bans with Friends, Library Patrons, and More - A step-by-step guide along with programming and resource development suggestions.

14. Kid's Right to Read Action Kit for Students and Parents - Developed by the National Coalition Against Censorship, this resource includes background information on legal precedence, explanation of terminology, and sample letters to school officials for use by students and by parents.

15. Library Defender Resource Center - Developed by For The People, this toolkit includes talking points, sample resolutions, guides for participating in public meetings, social media graphics along with suggested captions for sharing, stickers, and printable media (posters, flyers, bookmarks etc.).

16. Position Statement on the Role of Non-Fiction Literature (K-12) - A thorough and well resourced statement provided by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).

17. The Tennessee Holler Example - A brief video of Taylor Lyons, a parent in Hamilton County, TN, and one of the leaders in Moms for Social Justice.

Determining How You Would Like to Be Involved

1. Americans of Conscience Checklist - A fantastic resource for people who want to narrow their efforts and time on small but significant actions, the Americans of Conscience Checklist emails you with specific news items, scripts, action steps, and donation links to help you be a positive force in your community. From its description it includes "a list of clear, well-researched actions in support of things we can all agree on: democracy, voting access, equality for all Americans, basic respect for aspiring Americans; thank you notes for people advocating for these issues on both sides of the aisle, encouraging good news about the values we share." The minute you sign up, you'll receive an action plan checklist and an activism self-care plan, two crucial documents to help you manage your efforts and your health.

2. American Library Association's State Legislative Toolkit  - Use this collection of resources as a beginner's introduction to the following topics: preparing for a legislative session, building and maintaining a political advocacy structure, tracking legislation and media, building partnerships and coalitions, engaging with legislators, and addressing adverse legislation. Again, this link is a good starting point for you to familiarize yourself with this topics. It is not a deep-dive or all-inclusive stop. 

3. North Carolina for Community and Justice Blog - NCCJ is a non-partisan human relations organization located in Greensboro, North Carolina. Its blog is extensive and marvelously indexed. Each post includes further suggestions and resources for exploring a topic including podcasts, news articles, and free training videos.

4. Public Voices for Public Schools - "A project of the Network for Public Education Action, an organization of over 350,000 public school advocates dedicated to the preservation and improvement of our public schools." [Description quoted from source]. PV4PS keeps you up-to-date on news items and information that impact public education, and also provides an action center to guide your efforts.

5. Reading for Liberation - "A youth-led book club focusing on revolutionary texts and books about marginalized identities for marginalized communities."