WW Banned Book Club

A group calling itself “For Our Kids WW” is actively working to remove four books from the libraries of Walla Walla Public Schools. They say these texts present themes that are too burdensome for children. The themes from which they want to protect me and my peers seem to be based mostly on honest expressions of sex, sexuality, gender, and race. Attempting to shelter us from these important topics fails to realize that they present the lived experiences of me and my peers, and reading these books helps some of us feel seen and encourages the empathy of others.

 

To counter their efforts to limit the exposure of these books, I’d like to encourage as many of my peers to read these texts as possible, and I’m asking them to join me in a Banned Book Club. We will read one book per month over the next four months, and gather virtually on the last Saturday of each month for a discussion (hopefully facilitated by someone with expertise with the text).

The titles that are being targeted are The Bluest Eye, Gender Queer: A Memoir, All Boys Aren't Blue, and The Hate U Give. The Banned Book Club logo was created as an homage to the covers of these books. Club participants will receive corresponding buttons for each of the four texts they read.

Earthlight Books is graciously offering us a discount on book purchases (thank you, Mr. Cosby!) but this project still needs your help. If we’re able to raise $1,900 it will cover the costs of the books and a few other promotional materials for the club. This amount envisions a club with about 20 participants, but if there’s a large turnout we may have to try to raise a little bit more. Should we end up receiving more money than we need, we will donate all leftover funds to the Walla Walla Public Library. Please help us “Stand with the Banned!” Thank you for your help!

 

"Banning books gives us silence when we need speech. It closes our ears when we need to listen. It makes us blind when we need sight." -Steven Chbosky