I am writing in response to “Maine Republicans adopt platform to ban sexually-based material, transgender identity in schools.”(May 2) Banning books should not be a party platform. Decisions about materials in the curriculum are locally made and should be left to teachers, librarians, and local school boards.
The American Library Association is documenting an unprecedented number of book challenges. In 2021, 1,597 books were affected by censorship attempts. 10x the 156 challenges reported in 2020. In addition, the 2020-21 legislative sessions saw state legislators nationally introduce proposed legislation that would impair the ability of educators to purchase and make available diverse materials, resources, training, and programming to their communities. In Tennessee, lawmakers are on record stating they will burn books deemed inappropriate. State-backed burning of books in 2022?
The Freedom to Read is critical. Sex-ed materials are not pornography. All identities need to see themselves represented in the books they read. Critical race theory is a legal theory taught in law school; a term widely misused. It is indeed appropriate to make efforts to overthrow systematic racism by discussing anti-racism in school – with teachers and librarians making professional decisions on what age-appropriate materials to include in lesson plans. There are measures in place already to ensure that parents can guide their children towards reading materials they find appropriate.
I personally do not want Maine Republicans deciding what materials are or are not appropriate for my child. Don’t let Maine fall victim to book censorship and banning. We can do better.
Sonya M. Durney
East Waterboro
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