Rogue Librarians

We discuss The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, which was the fifth most frequently challenged book in America in 2021. First published in 2017, the book was a New York Times bestseller and the recipient of several awards, including the Michael L. Printz Award and the William C. Morris Award.

In this episode, we discuss why Thomas's novel has been banned recently. We also offer our assessment of its pros and cons. Please listen to our fourth episode for a close reading of the book's characters, themes, and significance.

If you would like to join our conversation, please visit www.theroguelibrarians.com or follow us on Instagram or Facebook @roguelibrarianspod or on Twitter @RLibrarians. Please consider helping us by giving us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts (or a rating on Spotify or Audible) and/or supporting our podcast on Patreon. We appreciate your support!

For more information on the Black Lives Matter movement and police shootings, please visit:

• https://blacklivesmatter.com/
• https://library.law.howard.edu/civilrightshistory/BLM
• https://pewresearch.org
• https://eji.org/
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/investigations/police-shootings-database/
• https://everytownresearch.org/issue/gun-violence-black-americans/
• https://interactive.aljazeera.com/aje/2020/know-their-names/index.html

Some of the sources mentioned in this episode:

• https://www.slj.com/story/the-hate-u-give-by-angie-thomas-slj-review
• https://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/the-hate-u-give
• https://blacklivesmatter.com/about/
• https://www.ebony.com/entertainment/the-hate-u-give-angie-thomas/
• https://www.marshall.edu/library/bannedbooks/the-hate-u-give/
• https://twitter.com/angiecthomas/status/936402969074991104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

We discuss The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman. First serialized from 1980-1991, Maus recently made the news after a Tennessee school board voted to prevent it from being taught in the district’s classrooms in January 2022. Maus has won several awards, including the Pulitzer Prize, the Harvey Award, and the Eisner Award.

In this episode, we discuss why Spiegelman's graphic memoir has been banned recently. We also offer our assessment of its pros and cons. Please listen to our sixth episode for a close reading of the book's characters, themes, and significance.

For more information on antisemitism (also written as anti-Semitism) and the Holocaust, please visit:

• https://www.holocaustremembrance.com/
• https://www.ushmm.org/antisemitism/what-is-antisemitism
• https://www.adl.org/what-we-do/fight-antisemitism

Some of the sources mentioned in this episode:

• https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/27/us/maus-banned-holocaust-tennessee.html
• https://cbldf.org/banned-challenged-comics/case-study-maus/
• https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/art-spiegelman-speaks-about-maus-and-its-place-in-schools-and-libraries/
• https://sjlmag.com/2022/02/08/maus-author-parental-control-whitewashing-led-to-ban/
• https://pen.org/report/banned-usa-growing-movement-to-censor-books-in-schools/
• https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/antisemitic-incidents-hit-a-record-high-in-2021-whats-behind-the-rise-in-hate
• https://www.holocaustremembrance.com/resources/working-definitions-charters/working-definition-antisemitism

If you would like to join our conversation, please visit theroguelibrarians.com or follow us on social media. Please consider supporting our podcast on Patreon. We appreciate your support!

Linktree: @roguelibrarianspod

Instagram: @roguelibrarianspod

Facebook: @roguelibrarianspod

Twitter: @RLibrarians

Patreon: patreon.com/roguelibrarians

We discuss Drama by Raina Telgemeier, which was the seventh-most-banned book between 2010 and 2019. First published in 2012, this graphic novel won the Stonewall Book Award in 2013, in addition to receiving many starred reviews and honors. Drama is notable because it was one of the first graphic novels to include gay characters.

In this episode, we discuss why Drama has been banned. We also offer our assessment of its pros and cons. Please listen to our eighth episode for a close reading of the book's characters, themes, and significance.

Some of the sources mentioned in this episode:

• https://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/drama
• https://www.slj.com/review/drama
• https://cbldf.org/banned-challenged-comics/case-study-drama/
• https://goodcomicsforkids.slj.com/2017/06/22/interview-raina-telgemeier-on-drama/
• https://www.slj.com/story/just-another-day-in-an-lgbtq-comic
• https://www.glaad.org/about
• https://www.slj.com/story/yalsa-hub-challenge-drama-by-raina-telgemeier
• https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10583-016-9299-x

Thanks to Chris for our music and to Lizzie for our audio editing (for all of our episodes)! Please visit our website for a transcript of this episode.

If you would like to join our conversation, please visit theroguelibrarians.com or follow us on social media. Please consider supporting our podcast on Patreon. We appreciate your support!

Linktree: @roguelibrarianspod

Instagram: @roguelibrarianspod

Facebook: @roguelibrarianspod

Twitter: @RLibrarians

Patreon: patreon.com/roguelibrarians

In this episode of Rogue Librarians, we discuss the importance of voting to combat the ongoing issue of book banning in the United States. The conversation covers recent legislative developments, state-specific ballot measures affecting libraries, and the significance of local elections in combating censorship.

We provide information on the congressional resolution condemning book bans

Discuss several state specific issues on the ballot that we found through Libraries2024.org including: Utah’s Amendment A (Vote No), North Dakota’s Measure 4 (Vote No), Kentucky’s Constitutional Amendment 2 (Vote No), and California’s Proposition 5 (Vote Yes).

We tell you how to learn more about the governance behind libraries through the

ACLU’s - School Governance 101 page

We offer a variety of interactive web sites to help you find out about items on your local ballots, including issues around book banning and more. Here is the list:

Vote 411

AARP

Everylibrary.org

Ballotpedia.org

We also offer suggestions about how to stay abreast of what’s happening in Book Banning Politics at the following websites:

ALA.org-Office for Intellectual Freedom

ALA Banned & Challenged Books

ALA Book Résumés

Book Riot - Literary Activism Newsletter

Every Library: Political Activity

Unite Against Book Bans

Pen America

Here is the link to the episode of On The Media that we recommended in the Intro.

The segment on book banning is at timecode [39:36]

From their show notes: “Host Brooke Gladstone interviews Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, whose children’s picture book, And Tango Makes Three, is among the long list of banned titles across the country. Hear why they’re suing in Florida to make their book — and others — accessible again.”

We do a close reading of Drama by Raina Telgemeier, which was the seventh-most-banned book between 2010 and 2019. Drama is notable because it was one of the first graphic novels to include gay characters.

We discuss our opinions of Drama's characters, themes, and significance. Please see Episode 7 for a discussion of why the book has been banned recently.

Thanks to Chris for our music and to Lizzie for our audio editing (for all of our episodes)! Please visit our website for a transcript of this episode.

If you would like to join our conversation, please visit theroguelibrarians.com or follow us on social media. Please consider supporting our podcast on Patreon. We appreciate your support!

Linktree: @roguelibrarianspod

Instagram: @roguelibrarianspod

Facebook: @roguelibrarianspod

Twitter: @RLibrarians

Patreon: patreon.com/roguelibrarians