Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

Book censorship focus of public comments at Lincolnwood Public Library Board of Trustees meeting
by Carrie Maxwell
2022-11-30

This article shared 3951 times since Wed Nov 30, 2022
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


During the closed door portion of the regularly scheduled Lincolnwood Public Library Board of Trustees meeting Nov. 28 at Lincolnwood Village Hall, Library Defense members hosted a Freadom Book Swap outside of the building. Library Defense also handed out flowers.

This took place ahead of the standing-room only (with overflow into the lobby) public comments portion of the meeting's agenda, where a contentious debate took place over the inclusion of some LGBTQ+ focused books in the children's part of the library. The November meeting was moved from the library to the village hall due to the large turnout at last month's meeting, which ended early when the police were called after things got heated between the attendees.

Library Defense was created by Chicago and Niles Township residents to combat the anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric, including book bans and bans on Drag Queen story time events at public libraries, that the organizations AWAKE Illinois and Moms for Liberty have spread in person and on social media. The book swap was intended to raise awareness of LGBTQ+ books that are being targeted by AWAKE Illinois and Moms for Liberty for removal from public and school libraries.

AWAKE Illinois and Moms for Liberty members have shown up at a number of public library and school board meetings for almost two years to demand these book removals. So far, their protests have been unsuccessful.

"We are here to defend the library against book banning and the fascist Christian nationalist that are trying to utilize our public institutions to erase LGBTQ+, BIPOC, disabled and anyone who does not fit into their mold," said Library Defense Co-Organizer and librarian-in-training Tara Donnelly while the book swap was taking place. "Libraries are for the whole community. No one should be excluded from the library. That is why we are here—to support the library workers and board in their mission which is enshrined in the American Library Association's by-laws.

"I am really excited that everyone has come out with such a positive attitude … Once this meeting is over, the library board will have denied their request to ban a book and we will be here to stand in support of the whole community."

"[Library Defense was created] so we could start defending our libraries against people who want to continue to spread rhetoric against LGBTQ+ community members," said Library Defense member and activist Lisa Khabeer while the book swap was taking place. "We see what this has been leading to all across the country. We want to show people that there is no reason to fear us, hate us or to try and stop children from seeing themselves in books and media.

"The calls for books to be banned and the rhetoric from the hate groups has led to a rise in anti-LGBTQ+ violence across the country, including the recent mass shooting at Club Q in Colorado Spring, Colorado. This cannot continue to happen and we will keep shining a light on this until the call for book bans, hateful rhetoric and violence stops."

Among the speakers were 10 who supported and six who were against the continued inclusion of certain LGBTQ+ books in the children's section. This included children's books like The Hips On The Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish and The Bare Naked Book (which is currently being repaired and will be located in the early readers nonfiction section when it is returned to circulation status at the library).

Lincolnwood resident Cary Godstein unfurled a poster with a page taken from The Bare Naked Book, and slammed its inclusion within the children's section of the library.

Teacher Susan Ginsburg said that, "We are living in a world of rampant disinformation and lies. The last thing I want is the library deciding what my child can and cannot read." She added, "Reading a book about gay people won't make you gay any more than reading a book about Einstein will make you a genius."

Ginsburg also spoke about her queer daughter and how disgusted she is that the word "groomer" is now being used to target LGBTQ+ people and their allies.

Longtime Lincolnwood resident Judy Abelson read the showtune lyrics "You've Got to Be Carefully Taught" from the musical play South Pacific and said that these lyrics also apply to how people react to the LGBTQ+ community. She also said she has a gay grandchild and that the LGBTQ+ community "needs love and understanding. Parents, this is your chance to answer questions if your child asks them. This is not a time to teach hate or deny what is reality. When you are at Macy's and you don't like the purple shirt, you can't demand that they take it away. Just don't buy it. That is your choice."

"Putting books on a restricted shelf stigmatizes the book and the patron which is the goal of the extremist groups to eliminate LGBTQIA people from the public sphere," said Donnelly during the meeting. She added that putting these restrictions on LGBTQ+ books violates the American Library Association's bill of rights.

Donnelly, an Albany Park Chicago resident, also praised the Lincolnwood library board and staff for their expertise. She reminded attendees of the dangers that Moms for Liberty members are foisting on communities nationwide with their "organized astro-turfed campaign that spouts QAnon talking points and follows the orders of the extremist Christian nationalists such as Christopher Rufo and Mike Flynn that are sifted down to the local level by organizations like AWAKE Illinois and Moms for Liberty."

Bryan Johnson said it is the job of parents, not the library, to determine when or if their children learn about gender or sexuality. He also objected to certain books being read out loud at children's story time events.

Lincolnwood resident Jen Mierisch said she wanted to know what was in The Hips On The Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish so she read it. She added that "it is a garden variety picture book. I searched it cover-to-cover for anything obscene, sexual, raunchy—you would come up with a big fat zero."

"I'm not here to ask for a ban on any books," said Lincolnwood resident Rahila Siddiqui. "I'm here to fight for my right to choose when my elementary school children should be exposed to complicated topics like drag queens."

Lincolnwood District 74 teacher/librarian Mark Lasky said, "As an educator and a gay man I know the value of seeing books that affirm identities … Books are for everyone. Books can save lives."

Chicago 45th Ward Aldermanic candidate Ana Santoyo condemned "right-wing attacks on library staff" and said she came to the meeting because "it is never just about the books. It's about attacking our LGBTQ siblings and trying to push them into the shadows and we are not going to let that happen."

Santoyo also spoke about the Club Q mass shooting and said that that kind of horrific event is linked to the effort to ban books. She called banning books "state violence."

Niles Coalition member Pam Wolff said she is a member of the LGBTQ+ community and that "what you do here tonight matters. What you do here tonight can mean the difference between life or death [for members of the LGBTQ+ community]. When you ban or hide or move a book or activity due to LGBTQIA content, you are sending a message to our community that LGBTQIA people don't matter, aren't wanted and don't belong. When you call us controversial, you send a message that we are lesser, aren't valued, inhuman. You contribute to disinformation, fear and hatred. You contribute to the growing violence against our community."

Another pro-LGBTQ+ speaker defended The Bare Naked Book and brought up the many allegations against anti-LGBTQ+ GOP politicians who have been accused of molesting children and adolescents.

The main argument that the people who objected to certain LGBTQ+ books being in the children's section made is that they should be in a different location in the library, not banning them outright. Those in favor of keeping the LGBTQ+ books in the children's section said that the mere removal of them to another location in the library amounted to censorship and otherizing one community over all others.

Additionally, one speaker intimated that LGBTQ+ books are "pornographic" and that same speaker and others criticized reporting by the Chicago Tribune about the previous library board meeting, calling it "inaccurate" and "misleading" as well as questioned why the article was not corrected immediately. Some also mentioned the upcoming library board elections on April 4, 2023, which elicited one audible boo from the audience and admonishments by Lincolnwood Library Board President Sheri Doniger to stick to the topic at hand.

The formal book challenge filed against The Hips On The Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish being included in the children's section was rejected by the library board citing censorship concerns as the reason for their decision. This book was read aloud last summer during a library-sponsored story time event.


This article shared 3951 times since Wed Nov 30, 2022
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

RuPaul finds 'Hidden Meanings' in new memoir
2024-03-18
RuPaul Andre Charles made a rare Chicago appearance for a book tour on March 12 at The Vic Theatre, 3145 N. Sheffield Ave. Presented by National Public Radio station WBEZ 91.5 FM, the talk coincided with ...


Gay News

WORLD Leaked messages, Panama action, author dies at 32, Japan court, out athletes
2024-03-15
Hundreds of messages from an internal chat board for an international group of transgender health professionals were leaked in a report and framed as revealing serious health risks associated with gender-affirming care, including cancer, according to ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Missouri measure, HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, judge, Texas schools
2024-03-15
In Missouri, a newly proposed law could charge teachers and counselors with a felony and require them to register as sex offenders if they're found guilty of supporting transgender students who are socially transitioning, CNN noted. ...


Gay News

College athletes sue NCAA over transgender policies
2024-03-15
Former Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines was among a group of college athletes who filed a lawsuit against the NCAA on March 14, accusing it of violating their Title IX rights by allowing trans swimmer Lia Thomas ...


Gay News

LGBTQ+ people attacked by mobs in Greece
2024-03-14
Just weeks after a landmark law granted same-sex couples in Greece the right to marry, nearly 200 people dressed in black chased a transgender couple through the town square in Thessaloniki, the country's "second city" and ...


Gay News

Florida settles 'Don't Say Gay' lawsuit
2024-03-11
On March 11, the state of Florida settled a multi-year lawsuit against the so-called "Don't Say Gay" law, which limits how LGBTQ+ topics can be discussed and presented in schools, The Hill reported. The settlement agreement ...


Gay News

"X" gender marker now available on Illinois driver's licenses and state ID cards
2024-03-11
After several years of preparation, the Illinois Secretary of State's office is has been making the X gender designation available for non-binary residents and others not utilizing the M or F designations, since the beginning of ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Altercation, mpox research, Univ. of Fla., George Santos, tech battle
2024-03-08
Video footage uploaded to Facebook showed an altercation between a state trooper and two prominent Philadelphia LGBTQ+ leaders, the Washington Blade reported, republishing an article from Philadelphia Gay News. Celena ...


Gay News

WORLD Israeli reservist, man detained, Ghana bill, medic denied honor
2024-03-08
Hanania Ben-Shimon—the gay Israel Defense Forces reservist who was wounded as he killed one of the terrorists in the attack at the A-Za'ayem checkpoint near Ma'ale Adumim recently—published a post in which he pleaded that his ...


Gay News

Without compromise: Holly Baggett explores lives of iconoclasts Margaret Anderson and Jane Heap
2024-03-04
Jane Heap (1883-1964) and Margaret Anderson (1886-1973), each of them a native Midwesterner, woman of letters and iconoclast, had a profound influence on literary culture in both America and Europe in the early 20th Century. Heap ...


Gay News

Court blocks Texas attorney general's demand for PFLAG data
2024-03-01
From a press release: AUSTIN, Texas—Travis County District Court Judge Maria Cantú Hexel on March 1 blocked the latest effort by the Texas Attorney General's Office to persecute Texas families with transgender youth, temporarily haltin ...


Gay News

WORLD Canadian politics, Australian murders, Finnish study, 'Anatomy'
2024-03-01
Canadian conservatives are divided over an anti-trans policy that Alberta Premier Danielle Smith handed down in her province, The Guardian reported. The policy includes a ban on hormonal treatment, puberty ...


Gay News

Appeals court allows Ind. ban on gender-affirming care for minors
2024-03-01
On Feb. 27, a federal appeals court in Chicago allowed Indiana's ban on gender-affirming care to go into effect, removing a temporary injunction that U.S. District Court Judge James Patrick Hanlon issued last year, ABC News ...


Gay News

Ghana parliament passes harsh anti-LGBTQ+ bill
2024-02-29
On Feb. 28, Ghana's parliament unanimously passed a controversial anti-LGBTQ+ bill that has been condemned globally. The so-called Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Act, which was introduced in the parliament in 2021, not only criminalizes ...


Gay News

There she goes again: Author Alison Cochrun discusses writing journey
2024-02-27
By Carrie Maxwell When Alison Cochrun began writing her first queer romance novel in 2019, she had no idea it would change the course of her entire life. Cochrun, who spent 11 years as a high ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.