Penguin Random House and PEN America sue Florida school district over book bans after Ron DeSantis goes 'anti-woke'
One of the world's largest publishers, Penguin Random House, PEN America and several authors have filed a lawsuit against a Florida school district over the banning of several books. This legal action is the latest response from companies and organizations pushing back against what they perceive as "anti-woke" actions by conservative politicians in the state.
In a battle of literary proportions, Penguin Random House has unleashed its legal arsenal against a Florida school district that dared to ban some of its esteemed books. The publisher - teaming up with PEN America and a group of resilient authors - is taking aim at the Escambia County School Board for its audacious act of "unlawfully removing or restricting access to books about race, racism, and LGBTQ+ identities."
🧵PEN America Files Lawsuit against Florida School District over Unconstitutional Book Bans
— PEN America (@PENamerica) May 17, 2023
Lawsuit joined by @penguinrandom, parents, and authors asserts that Escambia County School Board unlawfully removes or restricts access to books about race, racism, and LGBTQ identities. pic.twitter.com/9FFps68Gd6
But let's not forget the mastermind behind it all - Ron DeSantis, Florida's Republican Governor and potential contender in the 2024 Presidential race. With his "anti-woke" measures, DeSantis has managed to ignite a firestorm, causing companies and organisations to rise up against his attempt to stifle open dialogue and diversity.
#Desantis in Dictator mode. What a frightening line “where Woke goes to Die” - will he punish anyone that is not anti-woke??? Like he’s doing with # Disney & any business or person that doesn’t heel to his commands pic.twitter.com/4jd5r0IA8e
— Elle Law 🌊 (@ElleLaw4) May 15, 2023
The lawsuit argues that school officials are unfairly targeting books that address race and gender identity, thereby violating the First Amendment rights related to viewpoint discrimination. They argue that the removals disproportionately target books by non-white and/or LGBTQ authors, or those that address topics related to race or LGBTQ identity, thereby violating the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. It seems the district's book ban wasn't just misguided; it was downright discriminatory.
We filed our lawsuit alongside Penguin Random House, authors, and parents of children affected by the unconstitutional book bans carried out by Florida’s Escambia County School District and School Board, asking for books to be returned to school library shelves where they belong. pic.twitter.com/Paf0ZQtyOB
— PEN America (@PENamerica) May 17, 2023
In addition to endorsing these measures, state Republicans have also passed legislation that allows for local challenges to books.Furthermore, they recently expanded the rules to require schools to remove contested titles within five days of being flagged, which opponents equate to "book banning."
PEN America v. Book Bans:
— PEN America (@PENamerica) May 17, 2023
Our lawsuit brings together authors whose books have been removed or restricted and parents and students in the district who cannot access the books, in a first-of-its-kind challenge to unlawful censorship. Today's press release: https://t.co/yyAqx8BtH4 pic.twitter.com/GFM7FXqQGM
In this literary legal saga, even House Mouse itself, The Walt Disney Company, has joined the fight. Claiming a violation of its constitutional rights, Disney found itself caught in Florida's crosshairs due to its stance against DeSantis's "Don't Say Gay" law.
Stephen Colbert of The Late Show makes fun of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ ‘de-wokified’ (anti-woke) agenda, including the state’s no teaching of critical race theory, not talking about gays, and fighting the popular Disney World theme park.
— ChicMik (@ChyMik) April 11, 2023
Feb. 28, 2023https://t.co/CTuVtSrq4S pic.twitter.com/9ULVa8NfYJ
According to the lawsuit, the campaign to restrict access to books in the Escambia County School District began when a language arts teacher, Vicki Baggett, challenged Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Baggett continued her efforts, challenging more than 100 books for their "questionable content," which ultimately led to a book purge in the district.
Since then, the district and the school board have removed or indefinitely restricted access to several books, including works by the authors involved in the lawsuit, such as Uncle Bobby's Wedding by Sarah Brannen, All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson, Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan, When Aidan Became a Brother by Kyle Lukoff, and Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Pérez.
Among the other casualties that have been removed or indefinitely restricted are Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Milo Imagines the World by Matt de la Peña, The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, and Push by Sapphire. Additionally, over 100 other titles are currently restricted and require parental approval for access
As the case unfolds, the sheer absurdity of attempting to suppress books in the digital age is like trying to stop a waterfall with a tea strainer. In a world where information is at our fingertips, attempting to silence voices only amplifies the desire to be heard. Hopefully the might of the pen(guin) prevails over the swords of censorship.