Book Banning Attempts Rise in UK as US Groups Reach Overseas

British librarians see the impact of US censorship attempts

Librarians across the pond are reporting changes that stem from increased demands to remove books from shelves and increased influence in the US-based pressure group. Like America, many books aim to ban the centre of LGBTQ+ themes. Currently, most of the UK book challenges come from individuals and small groups, but librarians report that members of US-based groups are being harassed online, and one librarian has found propaganda from a US-based group on her desk. While British library experts report that the situation there is not (still) as disastrous as in the US, the global media ecosystem and the rise of far-right groups around the world have made this a serious threat to intellectual freedom. You will wonder if Mama for Freedom (named the Hate Group by the Southern Poverty Law Center) is one of the US groups currently reaching overseas. Guardian Not specified.

Pete Hegzes orders a book critical of racism removed from the Navy Academy Library

Maya Angelou is mentioned in a post about social media, My kamf You can stay. Citing Donald Trump’s January 29 executive order, Defense Secretary Pete Hegses recently directed the Naval Academy to remove books with themes of diversity, equity and inclusion from the school’s Nimitz Library. The politically appointed leader of the Navy Department decided which books to be removed, and ultimately pulled 381 titles from the shelf. Some of the deleted books (see full list) know about Maya Angelou, why a caged bird sings, how Ibram X. Kendi is how to become an anti-racist, KKK research, and horokus history. It’s what scholars and Naval Academy graduates call “an ideological censorship case study.” As Lisa Brooks, a professor of political science at Marquette University, says,

“I think students will do real harm to them to suggest that they cannot handle difficult ideas or face disagreements… We are training them to go out and command the troops and lead people potentially in war.

This is a predictable development from a regime that knows it will benefit from the ignorance of its citizens. 1 Encouragement Development: Many Navy Academy alumni, including very high-ranked former officials, have worked with local bookstores to make banned titles available to the academy midshipmen. Gentleman, welcome to resistance.

She won’t go here either!

Why are some of the ambitious, unning, and sometimes cruel women in classical literature interpreted as “mean girls” and others get as a pass for pragmatism? One writer’s theory: It all comes down to the class. Drop the Lit 101 syllabus and enjoy an analytical reread of some of the most memorable characters in American fiction.