Unite Against Book Bans draws its strength from a coalition of 250+ partner organizations—representing parents, educators, librarians, booksellers, publishers, authors, faith groups, and others—that share a common goal: defending the freedom to read. Our Partner Resource Spotlight series highlights content from these stakeholders and experts, drawn from Unite’s partner resource library. We hope this collection of guides, reports, data, and more will support your advocacy in the ongoing fight to read freely.
Are you looking for meaningful ways to observe Pride Month, while also doing your part to fight book bans? PFLAG offers comprehensive support through their online resource, “Fighting Anti-LGBTQ+ Censorship.”
Through this webpage, PFLAG outlines supporting content for educating yourself, offers training for beginning your advocacy journey, outlines organizing strategies, and provides suggestions for immediate actions you can take.
Anti-LGBTQ+ Censorship: What’s Happening and Why
Per PFLAG, “[t]he groups behind [book banning and censorship] … pull levers of fear and bias rooted in racism, homophobia, transphobia, Islamophobia, Anti-Semitism, and xenophobia to divide our communities, weaken our schools, and ultimately harm our students.”
PFLAG’s overview describes leading strategies employed by censorship groups and identifies the larger objectives that drive them. Strategies include banning books from schools and public libraries; penalizing teachers, librarians, and other professionals who stand up for diversity and inclusion; and banning school curricula. Through these strategies, partisan political actors are working to limit educational access and undermine public education.
Training and Resources
The fight against book bans depends on the success of diverse coalitions working together. To support freedom to read advocates, PFLAG offers a curated list of free training opportunities and resources from a range of nonprofit organizations that are deeply involved in this work. An especially powerful resource for Pride Month – and year-round – is PFLAG National’s Read With Love program.
Mobilizing to Stand Up for LGBTQ+ Stories
In addition to being a global celebration of LGBTQ+ identity and culture, Pride Month offers increased visibility for the ongoing fight to end discrimination and ensure equal rights for LGBTQ+ individuals and their families. It is a vital time for action to ensure free and open access to honest, accurate, and inclusive books and education in public schools and libraries. PFLAG provides support for reporting censorship, testifying at local board meetings, and engaging with local media, during Pride Month and throughout the year.
