.

early 1,500 individual books were banned in the first half of the 2022-2023 school year. That’s a 28 percent increase in book banning compared to the previous semester.[1]  During the 2021-2022 school year, book bans were issued across 32 states, effecting nearly four million students enrolled in at least 5,000 individual schools.[2]

What’s the best way to fight back? Activism revolving around Sandy Cisneros’ coming of age book The House on Mango Street is a veritable case study on successful pushback to book bans.

For example, the school board in St Helens, Oregon was “reconsidering” Cisneros’ work. Why was The House on Mango Street banned? Challengers cited “concerns for the social issues presented,” claiming it contains “content too mature for this age group.”[3]

How do you fight censorship in schools?

When Katie Van Winkle heard about what was taking place at her old school, she launched a grassroots letter-writing campaign on Facebook. Van Winkle enlisted former and current students to write testimonials about how they benefitted from reading The House on Mango Street as part of their middle school curriculum. The letters were subsequently presented at a school board meeting.

One former student referred to a class discussion about the scene where Esperanza is a victim of sexual assault.  This alumna reported that because the discourse took place in a safe and controlled environment, the conversation helped her cope with an attack she herself endured.

Social workers and counselors often use The House on Mango Street for young people who have been abused, physically, sexually, or otherwise. As Cisneros notes, “it allows them to talk about difficult subject matter without having to speak directly about themselves.”[4]

Students also pointed out in their testimonials that banning books which speak directly about social issues promotes silence – not only from victims of sexual assault, but those struggling with other real-world problems as well.

Thankfully, The House on Mango Street was reinstated to St. Helens’ middle school curriculum, a direct result of Van Winkle’s activism. But, as Van Winkle asserts, it should never have been removed in the first place:

[Students] shouldn’t have to defend [their] right to learn about the world—the real world, not a protected world of make-believe that some adults want to present to students.[5]

Cisneros’ opinion about her work being banned? “Unless I make someone angry, I realize I’m not doing my job.[6]
.

What’s the most common reason for a book to be banned?

“Censorship,” as author Rudolfo Anaya states, “is fear clothed in the guise of righteousness.”[7] Shielding students from difficult realities doesn’t keep the world at bay. Sheltering children in this way may feel like their innocence is being protected. But doing so leaves them naïve and vulnerable, ill-prepared to navigate an often disturbing and sometimes dangerous world. Insulating students also makes them less resilient should they become a victim of such realities themselves.

The House on Mango Street was also among the books involved in a 2010 Arizona law specifically designed to ban the Mexican American studies program being taught in the Tucson Unified School District. Ironically, one of the reasons given for dismantling Tucson’s Mexican American studies program was that the curriculum “promote[s] resentment toward a race or class of people,” and “advocate[s] ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals.” [8]

Challengers also allege that these books “promote the overthrow of the United States government.”[9] This charge is made despite, as author Tony Diaz points out, Cisneros’ protagonist Esperanza never saying a word about overthrowing the government. In fact, she doesn’t mention the government at all.[10]

Once again, students got involved and protested at a school district board meeting. National media got hold of the story, and so many people attended the next meeting that an overspill area was created, utilizing speakers so everyone could hear.[11]

Seeing these protests in the news, a group of Chicano writers, poets, artists and activists in Houston hatched a plan. They organized a caravan that traveled across the Southwest, spreading the word about what was going on in Arizona and gathering banned books to stock underground libraries in Tucson.[12]

The group called themselves librotraficante (which means book smuggler in Spanish) and rounded up more than 1,000 books by the time they reached their rally in Tucson.[13] The librotraficante not only handed out books to former Mexican American studies students, they created a library at a local youth center.

And it didn’t stop there. Further librotraficante actions include: social media campaigns, numerous freedom of speech events, and the launch of a magazine… not to mention the rise of underground libraries throughout the Southwest.

Following the success of the book-caravan, the group petitioned the Texas legislature for Mexican American studies to be offered statewide and got a positive response. The Texas State Board of Education agreed to allow interested schools to include ethnic-studies courses in their curriculum.[14]
.

How can book banning be stopped?

Ultimately, a federal judge struck down Arizona’s law banning the Mexican American studies program at Tucson High, finding that “both enactment and enforcement were motivated by racial animus.”[15] This was definitely a significant victory, but the librotraficante movement was never about a single win… so their activism continues.  The tiny program that Arizona tried to quietly shut down became the focal point of a Southwestern Chicano movement… and it was all kicked off by student involvement at a school board meeting.

The grassroots advocacy group MoveOn has taken a page from the librotraficante playbook. They recently launched a multi-state Banned Bookmobile Tour of their own. Like the librotraficante, they’re distributing some of the most frequently banned books in communities impacted by recent bans. Community involvement is clearly one of the most successful tools to push back with in the fight against book bans.

So, get involved.
Support your public library.
Attend your local school board meetings.

A single person can make a difference in the fight against book banning!
.

And, be sure to check out the post
The House on Mango Street: A bridge of unity.

#activism   #book banning     #The House on Mango Street

Endnotes:

[1] Kasey Meehan and Jonathan Friedman, Phd. “Banned in the USA: State Laws Supercharge Book Suppression in Schools.”  April 20, 2023. PEN America.  https://pen.org/report/banned-in-the-usa-state-laws-supercharge-book-suppression-in-schools/

[2 New Report: 2,500+ Book Bans Across 32 States During 2021-2022 School Year. September 19, 2022. PEN America 100. https://pen.org/press-release/new-report-2500-book-bans-across-32-states-during-2021-22-school-year/

[3] Van Winkle, Katie. “Saving Mango Street.” Rethinking Schools, v27 n1 p35-36 Fall 2012.  https://rethinkingschools.org/articles/saving-mango-street/

[4] Cisneros, Sandra. “The Author Responds to Your Letter.” In A House of My Own. New York: Penguin Random House, 2015. Pg 309.

[5] Van Winkle, Katie. “Saving Mango Street.” Rethinking Schools, v27 n1 p35-36 Fall 2012.  https://rethinkingschools.org/articles/saving-mango-street/

[6] “Sandra Cisneros.” In Interviews with writers of the post-colonial world. Edited by Jussawala, F., & Dasenbrock, R. W. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1992. Pg 292.

[7] Anaya, Rudolfo A. “Take the Tortillas Out of Your Poetry” in Censored Books, Critical Viewpoints. Edited by Nicholas J. Karolides, Lee Burress, and John M. Kean. (Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecrow Press, 2001). Pg 28.

[8] J. Weston Phippen and National Journal. “How One Law Banning Ethnic Studies Led to Its Rise.” July 19, 2015. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/07/how-one-law-banning-ethnic-studies-led-to-rise/398885/ ;
Hoinski, Michael. March 8, 2012. Texas Monthly via The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/09/us/gtt.html ;
Arizona House Bill 2281. https://www.azleg.gov/legtext/49leg/2r/bills/hb2281s.pdf

[9] Arizona House Bill 2281. https://www.azleg.gov/legtext/49leg/2r/bills/hb2281s.pdf

[10] Hoinski, Michael. March 8, 2012. Texas Monthly via The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/09/us/gtt.html

[11 J. Weston Phippen and National Journal. “How One Law Banning Ethnic Studies Led to Its Rise.” July 19, 2015. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/07/how-one-law-banning-ethnic-studies-led-to-rise/398885/

[12] J. Weston Phippen and National Journal. “How One Law Banning Ethnic Studies Led to Its Rise.” July 19, 2015. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/07/how-one-law-banning-ethnic-studies-led-to-rise/398885/ ;
Moreheart, Phil. “A Year in the Life of Librotraficante.” May 14, 2013. American Libraries Magazine. https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2013/05/14/a-year-in-the-life-of-librotraficante/

[13] Moreheart, Phil. “A Year in the Life of Librotraficante.” May 14, 2013. American Libraries Magazine. https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2013/05/14/a-year-in-the-life-of-librotraficante/

[14] J. Weston Phippen and National Journal. “How One Law Banning Ethnic Studies Led to Its Rise.” July 19, 2015. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/07/how-one-law-banning-ethnic-studies-led-to-rise/398885/
Moreheart, Phil. “A Year in the Life of Librotraficante.” May 14, 2013. American Libraries Magazine. https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2013/05/14/a-year-in-the-life-of-librotraficante/
Librotraficante: Underground Libraries. http://www.librotraficante.com/Underground-Libraries.html

[15] Depenbrock, Julie. “Federal Judge Finds Racism Behind Arizona Law Banning Ethnic Studies.” August 22, 2017. NPR All Things Considered. https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2017/08/22/545402866/federal-judge-finds-racism-behind-arizona-law-banning-ethnic-studies

Image:

Photo by Drew Coffman on Unsplash

FYI:

Pick up one (or all) of these incredible books from your favorite bookseller.

And, be sure to check out our deep dive into Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street.

#Banned Books     #Celebrations     #Hispanic Authors   #On Censorship

Endnotes:

[1] National Hispanic Heritage Month: Sept. 15-Oct. 15, 2023. United States Census Bureau.

Indigenous Resistance Day – Columbus Day – Meeting of two cultures. CNDH. (Comisión Nacional de los Derechos Humanos)https://www.cndh.org.mx/noticia/dia-de-la-resistencia-indigena-dia-de-la-raza-encuentro-de-dos-culturas

[2] Rogers, Camille. “Banned Hispanic Heritage Books.” University of Maryland College of Information Studies.

[3] “Norwood Students Stage Sit-In to Protest Book Banning.” July 21, 2015. The Watch. https://www.telluridenews.com/the_watch/news/article_1ce8907e-5b90-5a73-8baa-10ad85648900.html

[4]“Libros Prohibidos – Banned Books by Latin Authors.”  Pima County Public Library.
https://pima.bibliocommons.com/list/share/328497117/505597407

Image:

Photo by Sydney Rae on Unsplash

FYI:

This year’s theme is Everyone Has a Story,
celebrating the storyteller in us all. 

The 2023 Library of Congress National Book Festival takes place in Washington D.C. at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on Saturday, August 12, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. It’s free and open to the public.

If you can’t attend in person, never fear, experience the LOC’s National Book Festival online. There are plenty of programs and activities available before (beginning July 20th), during, and continuing after the Festival.

In contrast to the book banners who target works advancing diversity, Rich Homberg, president and CEO of Detroit Public Television (which is partnering with the LOC in this event) asserted that “everyone has a story that needs to be told and we’re now living in an exciting time when more diverse voices are sharing their journeys, their rite of passage, as well as their challenges and opportunities, which are all preserved within the pages of books. That’s how we learn empathy, and that’s how we bridge great divides.”

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden affirmed the sentiment, stating “the Library believes that everyone has a story to tell, and we’re proud to share the stories of so many groundbreaking authors, writers, poets and illustrators at the National Book Festival.”

The 2023 series features interviews with authors including Claribel A. Ortega, Shelby Van Pelt, Tananarive Due, S.A. Cosby, Luis Alberto Urrea, Beverly Gage, TJ Klune, Matthew Desmond, Héctor Tobar, Angeline Boulley and Trang Thanh Tran. You can find them at PBSbooks.org/LOCBookFest23

The Library of Congress is an amazing place, one you might not have thought of for personal use. But they have hundreds of incredible digital collections that include manuscripts from historic figures, newspaper archives, photographs, just to name a few…  not to mention the legislation we would expect them to house.

And then there’s our favorite, a source called banned books online –a listing of books that have been banned, complete with links to those books so we can be sure to read them. If you haven’t already discovered the Library of Congress, make the National Book Festival your first point of contact.

And then, be sure to tell us about the banned books
you were inspired to read as a result.

 #Library of Congress            #celebrations

oday is the anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, a series of events in 1969 that has shaped the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. The significance of that moment in history is undeniable. Stonewall brought a heightened level of awareness of and participation in LGBTQ+ activism. In fact, it’s the reason June is Pride month.

Especially on this day it’s important to remember that, as professor of queer literary studies Octavio González points out, Stonewall is a “development in a longer arc of queer-rights advocacy, research, and activism.”[1]  And that arc begins with the world’s first gay activist group, established in 1897 by Magnus Hirschfeld, author of the foundational text of queer identity Berlin’s Third Gender.[2]

Who’s Magnus Hirschfeld? He was a German physician and sexologist, best known for being an outspoken advocate for sexual minorities. Hirschfeld saw sexual orientation as a naturally occurring trait, one deserving of scientific inquiry and political emancipation rather than societal hostility.[7]

His motto was per scientiam ad justitiam (through science to justice), which epitomizes his conviction that scientific understanding of sexuality would result in tolerance and acceptance of sexual minorities.[8]

As noted above, Hirschfeld established the world’s first gay activist group, the Scientific-Humanitarian Committee. The organization’s primary goal was overturning Paragraph 175 of the German Criminal Code, which targeted homosexual men. As a gay man, this section of Germany’s penal code dogged Hirschfeld’s own existence.

Through his medical practice, he also saw the devastating impact it had on men who lived in fear and shame, prey to blackmailers. The organization’s charter also called for public enlightenment about sexual minorities.

The Yearbook for Sexual Intermediaries, published in 1899, was the first text produced toward that end by Hirschfeld’s Scientific-Humanitarian Committee. It appeared in annual editions for a quarter of a century, and totaled 11,000 pages. The Yearbook is academic in nature, and forthrightly maintains that homosexuality is in-born. It also tracks the development of a corresponding homosexual identity throughout history.

In 1904, Hirschfeld published the essay titled The Third Gender and it’s the first published work on the subject from an insider’s perspective.[9] The phrase “the third gender” is a label of convenience utilized in ancient Rome, coming from a time when he was still examining the distinction between gender and sexuality.[10]

In his research on sexual attraction, Hirschfeld landed on the idea of a continuum – decades before Alfred Kinsey entered the picture.[11] He specified that being at either end of the heterosexual/homosexual spectrum was the exception rather than the rule. Hirschfeld also noted that these proportions were likely to change over the course of one’s lifetime.[12]

Much of The Third Gender revolves around expressions of same-sex attraction, but it also addresses those living in conflict with their assigned gender (who would come to be identified as trans). Hirschfeld realized that denying their identity was driving these individuals to depression or even suicide. At the time, a term describing their circumstances didn’t exist. In fact, it was Hirschfeld who coined the term transsexualism, giving a name and therefore credence to their situation. His most powerful contribution to the transexual community, however, (even above the clinical assistance he offered) was acknowledging that trans men and women exist… and always have.

In contrast to the Yearbook for Sexual intermediaries’ academic tone, there’s little evidence of Hirschfeld’s extensive research into sexual practices in The Third Gender. The focus is reversed, from exoticism to familiarity, with same-sex subjects presented in commonplace domestic settings. It’s also markedly sentimental, which makes it more accessible to the average reader.[13] For example:

I was once treating a noble lady who had been living with a friend for a number of years for a serious nervous condition. Neither before nor since have I seen such a loving merging of a healthy person into a sick person in my practice as in this case, neither among spouses nor even among mothers who feared for their children. The healthy friend was not a pleasant fellow citizen, she had a lot of ruthless and headstrong attitudes, but anyone who saw this truly touching love and care, this unremitting effort day and night, held much too good for her for the sake of this strong and beautiful feeling. She was really bonded to her friend, if you touched a painful limb of the patient, she winced reflexively, every discomfort of the sufferer was reflected on her face.  [14]

Some think of their dashed hopes, what could they have achieved if old prejudices had not stood in the way of their careers, and others in respected positions remember the lie of life that weighs heavily on them! Many think of their parents who are dead or for whom they are dead, and all of them with heartfelt melancholy of the woman who loved them more than anything and whom they loved more than anything—their mother. [15]

1919 saw Hirschfeld open the world’s first institute for sexual science, which he located in Berlin. It is there that he established a vocabulary for sexual minorities, which helps to remove the stigma and taboo they’d been experiencing. It’s also here that he offered practical interventions like hair removal, hormone treatment, and pioneering gender affirmation surgery.[16]

After more than a decade, Hirschfeld’s Institute for Sexual Sciences housed an extensive library on sexuality, it included rare books, as well as diagrams and protocols for transition surgery.

It was on May 6, 1933 that the Nazis came for the institute. Troops swarmed the building, and carried off all its books, which they piled in the street along with a bronze bust of Hirschfeld. The bonfire engulfed more than 20,000 books, filled with research that not only helped establish a historical context for non-conforming people but also delineated procedures that addressed their physical needs.[17]  

Needless to say, the collection was irreplaceable. And as a result of the burning, the acknowledgement and therefore acceptance of sexual minorities was significantly hindered across the globe.

And it isn’t only the LGBTQ+ community that’s effected. Hobbling opportunities to understand one another is detrimental to all of us.  That’s why it is more important than ever to not just talk about the banning of books, but to take action.

What kind of action? Check out a banned book from the library – yes, that actually helps. And, public input is important, so contact your local school board members, library trustees, and state legislators. Better yet, attend the next school board or library board meeting and speak out against book bans. It’s also a pretty good way to commemorate Stonewall’s anniversary.

#StonewallAnniversary     #Berlin’sThirdGender     #MagnusHirschfeld        #LGBTQ+ authors

Endnotes:

[1] “On the 50^th Anniversary of Stonewall, Wellesley Professor Discusses Its Legacy and Impact.” Wellesley College. https://www.wellesley.edu/news/2019/stories/node/167031

[2] Conway, James J. “Out on the Town: Magnus Hirschfeld and Berlin’s Third Sex.” June 7, 2022. The Public Domain Review. https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/out-on-the-town?fbclid=IwAR0EdZNI7FNZ3ciu7wBCCIEOB8WCBc3FglAVjBJF7ZJ5fOrGT9U3v-3AVBM#p-1-1

[3] Kasey Meehan, Jonathan Friedman. “Banned in the USA: State Laws Supercharge Book Suppression in Schools.” April 20, 2023. PEN America.https://pen.org/report/banned-in-the-usa-state-laws-supercharge-book-suppression-in-schools/

[4] Hillel Italie. “’Gender Queer’ tops library group’s list of challenged books.” AP News. https://apnews.com/article/most-challenged-books-2022-list-c39af4320afb16525cb0fd911c9ffed4

[5] Padgett, Donald. “Burn LGBTQ+ Books for Children, Group of Mothers Demands Local Library.” July 11, 2022. The Advocate. https://www.advocate.com/news/2022/7/11/burn-lgbtq-books-children-group-mothers-demands-local-library

[6] Bauer, Heike. “Burning Sexual Subjects: Books, Homophobia and the Nazi Destruction of the Institute of Sexual Sciences in Berlin.” In Book Destruction, ed. Gill Partington and Adam Smyth (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014), pp. 17-33.

[7] Melville, Raymond. “Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld.” Stonewall Society. https://www.stonewallsociety.com/famouspeople/magnus.htm

[8] Bauer, Edgar J. “Hirschfelt, Magnus.” GLBTQ Historical Society. http://www.glbtqarchive.com/ssh/hirschfeld_m_S.pdf

[9] Conway, James J. “Out on the Town: Magnus Hirschfeld and Berlin’s Third Sex.” June 7, 2022. The Public Domain Review. https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/out-on-the-town?fbclid=IwAR0EdZNI7FNZ3ciu7wBCCIEOB8WCBc3FglAVjBJF7ZJ5fOrGT9U3v-3AVBM#p-1-1

[10] Hirschfeld, Magnus. The Third Gender. 7^th edition. Edited by Hans Ostwald. Berlin: Hermann Seemann, Pg 6.

[11] Conway, James J. “Out on the Town: Magnus Hirschfeld and Berlin’s Third Sex.” June 7, 2022. The Public Domain Review. https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/out-on-the-town?fbclid=IwAR0EdZNI7FNZ3ciu7wBCCIEOB8WCBc3FglAVjBJF7ZJ5fOrGT9U3v-3AVBM#p-1-1

[12] “Hirschfeld, Magnus” in Encyclopedia of Gender and Society (vol 1) edited by Jodi O’Brien. Los Angeles: Sage Publications, 2009. Pg 424.

[13] Conway, James J. “Out on the Town: Magnus Hirschfeld and Berlin’s Third Sex.” June 7, 2022. The Public Domain Review. https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/out-on-the-town?fbclid=IwAR0EdZNI7FNZ3ciu7wBCCIEOB8WCBc3FglAVjBJF7ZJ5fOrGT9U3v-3AVBM#p-1-1

[14] Hirschfeld, Magnus. The Third Gender. 7^th edition. Edited by Hans Ostwald. Berlin: Hermann Seemann, Pg 14.

[15] Hirschfeld, Magnus. The Third Gender. 7^th edition. Edited by Hans Ostwald. Berlin: Hermann Seemann, Pg 19.

[16] Conway, James J. “Out on the Town: Magnus Hirschfeld and Berlin’s Third Sex.” June 7, 2022. The Public Domain Review. https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/out-on-the-town?fbclid=IwAR0EdZNI7FNZ3ciu7wBCCIEOB8WCBc3FglAVjBJF7ZJ5fOrGT9U3v-3AVBM#p-1-1

[17] Schillace, Brandy. “The Forgotten History of the World’s First Trans Clinic.” May 10, 2021. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-forgotten-history-of-the-worlds-first-trans-clinic/

Images:

“6 May 1933: Looting of the Institute of Sexology.” Holocaust Memorial Day Trust.”

Magnus Hirschfeld. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Magnus-Hirschfeld#/media/1/266859/245720

Yearbook for sexual intermediates with special reference to homosexuality. Edited by Magnus Hirschfeld. Leipzig: Publisher of Max Spohr 1.1899-13.1912.

Conway, James J. “Out on the Town: Magnus Hirschfeld and Berlin’s Third Sex.” June 7, 2022. The Public Domain Review. https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/out-on-the-town?fbclid=IwAR0EdZNI7FNZ3ciu7wBCCIEOB8WCBc3FglAVjBJF7ZJ5fOrGT9U3v-3AVBM#p-1-1

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of National Archives and Records Administration, College Park. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/photo/the-institute-for-sexual-science

ooks by and about the LGBTQ+ community are the most frequent targets of bans at public schools and libraries across the country. (Right up there with books about race, racism, or have characters of color.)[1] And these challenges explicitly state that young people shouldn’t be exposed to LGBTQ+ material.[2]

An extension of this thinking is evident in attempts by policymakers nationwide to prohibit drag shows and banning gender-affirming care. They’re also pushing to allow the deadnaming of transgender students or adults in the workplace, as well as other measures that target LGBTQ+ people.[3]

Books have the ability to give us a glimpse into lives and experiences other than our own, and Maia Kobabe’s graphic memoir Gender Queer is a perfect example. Unfortunately, according to the American Library Association (ALA) Gender Queer has been at the top of the banned book list for two years running (2021 and 2022).[4]

Kobabe, who uses e/em/eir pronouns, started writing this memoir as a way to explain to eir family what it means to be nonbinary and asexual. But Gender Queer turned out to be more than a personal story. It’s a touching, insightful and useful guide on gender identity for friends, advocates, and humans everywhere.[5]

Many other books are facing similar trials, including George M. Johnson’s All Boys Aren’t Blue, Mike Curato’s Flamer, Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower, John Green’s Looking for Alaska, Jonathan Evison’s Lawn Boy and Juno Dawson’s This Book Is Gay.[6]

So, read a book from the ALA’s rainbow list in support of Pride Month. Or choose from books, like Gender Queer, that have received the Stonewall Book Award for exceptional merit relating to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender experience. But don’t limit choices from these lists to the month of June, show support for Pride year round.

Stonewall Honor Books in Literature

• “Light From Uncommon Stars” by Ryka Aoki (Tor Books)
• “Black Girl, Call Home” by Jasmine Mans (Berkley)
• “Stone Fruit” by Lee Lai (Fantagraphic Books)
• “A Psalm for the Wild-Built” by Becky Chambers (Tor Books)

Stonewall Honor Books in Non-Fiction

• “Hidden Case of Ewan Forbes: And the Unwritten History of the Trans Experience” by Zoë Playdon (Scribner)
• “A History of Scars” by Laura Lee (Atria Paperback)
• “Let the Record Show: A Political History of ACT UP New York, 1987-1993” by Sarah Schulman (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux)
• “Punch Me Up to the Gods: A Memoir by Brian Broome (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

Stonewall Honor Books in Children’s and Young Adult Literature

• “Almost Flying,” written by Jake Maia Arlow (Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC)
• The Darkness Outside Us,” written by Eliot Schrefer (Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers) [7]

#ALA Rainbow List       #Celebrations       #LGBTQ+ authors

Endnotes:

[1] Kasey Meehan, Jonathan Friedman. “Banned in the USA: State Laws Supercharge Book Suppression in Schools.” April 20, 2023. PEN America.https://pen.org/report/banned-in-the-usa-state-laws-supercharge-book-suppression-in-schools/

[2] Hillel Italie. “’Gender Queer’ tops library group’s list of challenged books.” AP News. https://apnews.com/article/most-challenged-books-2022-list-c39af4320afb16525cb0fd911c9ffed4

[3] Scott McFetridge, Anthony Izagirre and Sara Cline. “School library book bans are seen as targeting LGBTQ content.” March 20, 2023.  AP News. https://apnews.com/article/lgbtq-book-bans-91b2d4c086eb082cbecfdda2800ef29a

[4] Hillel Italie. “’Gender Queer’ tops library group’s list of challenged books.” AP News. https://apnews.com/article/most-challenged-books-2022-list-c39af4320afb16525cb0fd911c9ffed4

[5] Simon and Schuster.com  https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Gender-Queer-A-Memoir/Maia-Kobabe/9781549304002

[6] Hillel Italie. “’Gender Queer’ tops library group’s list of challenged books.” AP News. https://apnews.com/article/most-challenged-books-2022-list-c39af4320afb16525cb0fd911c9ffed4

[7] American Library Association. Stonewall Book Awards List. https://www.ala.org/rt/rrt/award/stonewall/honored

Images:

[1] Pride Flag. Image by rawpixel.com on Freepik.

[2] Gender Queer Cover. Kobabe, Maia. Gender Queer. Portland, Oregon: Oni Press, Deluxe edition (July 5, 2022).

ll too often the context of popular expressions has been forgotten. Their original message is typically richer and more profound than our contemporary interpretation.

This Book is Banned proffers a few proverbs, sayings, and other pearls of wisdom that have been “unplugged,” as it were. We’ve rebooted, gone back-to-basics, and re-discovered their intended message. In recognition of Juneteenth, we’re taking a look at the expression…

It’s a Cakewalk.

The phrase “It’s a cakewalk” is typically used to mean something so easy success is certain –  like Shakespeare getting an A in English class. It’s ironic, however, that this expression has come to mean something that’s absurdly easy, because the origin of this folk form is anything but easy.

These days a cakewalk is a musical game where participants promenade in a circle comprised of numbered spaces where players land when the music stops. If the number you end up on is drawn by the caller you win, and your prize is – you guessed it —a cake.[1]

The origin of the cakewalk, however, is dark and much more complicated than this appropriated version. Oral histories of enslaved people reveal that the cakewalk originated in the antebellum slave quarters of Southern plantations.[2]

The parents of ragtime musician Shepard Edmonds shared memories of their enslavement with him, and he explained that the dance typically took place on Sundays, when there was little work to be done. It was performed by young and old alike, in “hand-me-down finery,” and involved a prancing walk, high kicks, and personalized shuffles.[3]

Edmonds characterized the cakewalk as a “takeoff on the high manners of the folks in the ‘big house’.”[4]  The story that actor Leigh Whipple related about his childhood nurse, however, is more direct. Her account ends with the statement “we used to mock them, every step.”[5]

Plantation owners gathered around to watch the fun, but they clearly missed the satirical point. For, Edmonds’ parents also indicated that competition among enslaved couples “started with the master giving a cake to the couple that did the proudest movement” – hence the term cakewalk.[6]

Exceptional dancers were often taken from one plantation to another to compete in dancing contests with other enslaved Africans. Such competitions were typically betting events for the plantation owners, not unlike betting on the winner of a horserace.[7]

After the Civil War, the cakewalk became a mainstay of the minstrel show, with lavish, mammoth productions often in the guise of a “walkaround finale.”[8] With this turn of events, the cakewalk found a much wider audience, and it was so popular it became a fad.

In the meantime, a radically new form of music was emerging. Piano ragtime was an overnight obsession, and it rode in on the cakewalk.[9] Legendary ragtime composer Scott Joplin described this African-American tradition and referred to its history in his song The Ragtime Dance:

Let me see you do the rag-time dance,
Turn left and do the cakewalk prance,
Turn the other way and do the slow drag
Now take your lady to the World’s Fair
And do the rag-time dance. [10]

Not surprisingly, for white writers of ragtime the music was less about a folk form being adapted to the needs of a new age than it was something to be commercially exploited. Even the famous bandleader John Phillip Sousa got into the act.

Sousa featured cakewalk syncopation in his performance at the 1900 Paris Exposition, as well as the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis. In 1908, the Impressionist composer Claude Debussy gave a nod to the cakewalk with his composition The Golliwog’s Cakewalk.[11]

It’s regrettable that, like many African-American folk forms, the cakewalk’s difficult history has been forgotten. In an effort to educate about the origins of this tradition, cakewalks are being incorporated into Juneteenth celebrations around the country… it’s a good start toward setting the record straight.

 Check out more unplugged proverbs, sayings, and other pearls of wisdom.

 #history      #Juneteenth      #cakewalk     #unplugged aphorisms 

Endnotes:

[1] Shrumm, Regan. “Who takes the cake? The history of the cakewalk.” May 18, 2016. Smithsonian Institute. https://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/who-takes-cake-history-cakewalk

[2] Ghandi, Lakshmi. “The Extraordinary Story of Why a ‘Cakewalk’ Wasn’t Always Easy.” December 23, 2013. NPR. https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/12/23/256566647/the-extraordinary-story-of-why-a-cakewalk-wasnt-always-easy

Shrumm, Regan. “Who takes the cake? The history of the cakewalk.” May 18, 2016. Smithsonian Institute. https://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/who-takes-cake-history-cakewalk

[3] Baldwin, Brooke. “The Cakewalk: A Study in Stereotype and Reality.” Journal of Social History. Vol. 15 (1981) 208.

Shrumm, Regan. “Who takes the cake? The history of the cakewalk.” May 18, 2016. Smithsonian Institute. https://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/who-takes-cake-history-cakewalk

Ghandi, Lakshmi. “The Extraordinary Story of Why a ‘Cakewalk’ Wasn’t Always Easy.” December 23, 2013. NPR. https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/12/23/256566647/the-extraordinary-story-of-why-a-cakewalk-wasnt-always-easy

Moore, Alex. Cross-Cultural Perspectives on the Creation of American Dance 1619-1950. Global Studies Thesis. Hofstra University, 2010.

[4] Sundquist, Eric. To Wake The Nations: Race in The Making of American Literature. Boston: Belknap press, 1998.

Holstrom, David. “Community, Culture, and Black Experience.” Feb 5, 1993. The Christian Science Monitor. https://www.csmonitor.com/1993/0205/05101.html

[5] Baldwin, Brooke. “The Cakewalk: A Study in Stereotype and Reality.” Journal of Social History. Vol. 15 (1981) 208.

[6] Rudi Blesh and Harriet Janis. They All Played Ragtime. New York: Oak Publications, 1971. Pg 96. https://archive.org/details/theyallplayedrag00bles/page/96/mode/2up?q=edmonds&view=theater

[7] Stearns, Marshall and Jean. Jazz Dance: The Story of American Vernacular Dance.  New York: Da Capo Press, 1994. Pp 22-23.

[8] Baldwin, Brooke. “The Cakewalk: A Study in Stereotype and Reality.” Journal of Social History. Vol. 15 (1981) 211.

[9] Baldwin, Brooke. “The Cakewalk: A Study in Stereotype and Reality.” Journal of Social History. Vol. 15 (1981) 211.

Rudi Blesh and Harriet Janis. They All Played Ragtime. New York: Oak Publications, 1971. Pg 13. https://archive.org/details/theyallplayedrag00bles/page/96/mode/2up?q=edmonds&view=theater

[10] Words and Music by Scott Joplin. The Ragtime Dance (1902). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGgS6iGPEaE

[11] Rudi Blesh and Harriet Janis. They All Played Ragtime. New York: Oak Publications, 1971. Pp 74-75. https://archive.org/details/theyallplayedrag00bles/page/96/mode/2up?q=edmonds&view=theater

Stearns, Marshall and Jean. Jazz Dance: The Story of American Vernacular Dance.  New York: Da Capo Press, 1994. Pg 123.

Gammond, Peter. Scott Joplin and the Ragtime Era. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1975. Pg 39.

Image: 

Creator: Michael Ochs Archives | Credit: Getty Images 

he American Library Association (ALA) has designated April 24, 2023 as the inaugural Right to Read Day. More than simple acknowledgement, it’s a national day of advocacy and action! The ALA is calling on readers, library lovers, and free speech advocates everywhere to defend their right to read freely, and take concrete action to preserve it:

• Check out a library book that’s at risk of being banned.
• Write a letter speaking out against book banning to the editor of your local newspaper, or an elected leader.
• Let your voice be heard at a meeting of your library board, school board, or other local officials.
• Organize a peaceful public event in support of libraries.
• Report censorship to the Office for Intellectual Freedom.
• Support, and spread the word about websites that speak out against censorship, sites like com

Right to Read Day also marks the first anniversary of Unite Against Banned Books, a public-facing advocacy campaign founded by the ALA to empower readers everywhere to stand together in the increasingly important fight against censorship.[1]

Since its launch in April 2022, Unite Against Book Bans has created a set of free advocacy resources for individuals, as well as providing direct support to community organizers. Get your toolkit here. [2]

But don’t limit your actions to Right to Read Day. Keep your activism against censorship going beyond April 24^th. Continue to counter the small but vocal group of voices driving the current wave of book bans in schools and public libraries.

Let’s put the kibosh on this alarming surge in book bannings.

#celebrations        #on censorship           #book banning

Endnotes:

[1] “ALA calls for national day of action to protect the freedom to read, designates Right to Read Monday for 2023 National Library Week.”  March 17, 2023. ALA Member News. 

[2] Action Toolkit. Unite Against Book Bans. https://uniteagainstbookbans.org/toolkit/