The Nashville Public Library is protesting banned books with a bright yellow library card with a special message: “I read forbidden books.”
The limited edition cards are part of the library’s Freedom to Read campaign to celebrate the “right to read”.
Recently, Tennessee was having a hard time with a book ban.
In January, the school board in McMinn County unanimously voted to ban the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel “Maus” from the eighth-grade curriculum. Reason: the novel includes inappropriate language, illustrations and Holocaust themes.
In February, the school board in Williamson County banned “Walk Two Moons,” a popular 1994 novel, recommended by conservative parent group Moms for Liberty.
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On April 28, the Tennessee House of Representatives and Senate passed legislation allowing Tennessee to control what books are offered in schools. This gives the school board the power to veto and change curriculum decisions.
During a debate over the law last week, Republican Representative Jerry Sexton replied: “I don’t have a clue, but I will burn themTo a Democrat colleague asked what he would do with the books that were banned from the library.
The Nashville Library provides access to more than 2 million books and documents, including those that have been banned and challenged in cities across the United States.
“This campaign is our way of bringing our community together in our Common Freedom of Reading, which is essential to maintaining our democracy,” said Kent Oliver, Director of the Public Library. Nashville, said in a Press Release ship to USA TODAY.
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Oliver hopes to distribute 5,000 of these limited-edition cards to the people of Davidson County. Nashville residents can redeem their library card for new releases in May.
The Nashville Public Library website has list books have been banned or challenged locally and nationally.
Here are some books:
- “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas
- “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood
- “A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo” by Jill Twiss.
- “Stamped: racism, antiracism, and you” by Jason, Reynolds
- “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee
- “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck
