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Education and civil rights groups are forming a coalition to beat back censorship in Texas public schools and oppose book bans.

The Teach the Truth campaign aims to educate community members on how to testify at school board meetings, pressure state representatives and organize against attempts to limit whats taught in classrooms.

We come to you with a renewed sense of urgency, Texas Freedom Network director Val Benavidez said during a launch event Tuesday morning. At this very moment in Texas, the stories of diverse communities are being taken from the shelves of school libraries, and the truthful history of our state and nation is being erased from public school lesson plans.

Lessons about LGBT people and the United States history of racism have been in the crosshairs of Republican state leaders. The Legislature passed two bills targeting critical race theory, an academic framework that probes the way policies and laws uphold systemic racism.

Conservative pundits have conflated it with a wide swath of schools diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. They argue that it makes children feel bad about their race and is divisive. But educators have long pushed back, insisting it is not taught in K-12 schools.

Equality Texas director Ricardo Martinez said opponents of critical race theory have fabricated a moral panic.

Republican state leaders have also labeled some books with LGBT characters as pornographic and pressured districts to scrutinize their libraries for such titles as well as many that deal with race. Conservative parents have flooded districts with requests to remove such books with some success.

Gov. Greg Abbott wrote letters late last year to state education officials directing them to develop new standards for library books.

A growing number of parents of Texas students are rightfully outraged about highly inappropriate books and other content in public school libraries, he wrote. The most disturbing cases include material that is clearly pornographic, which has absolutely no place in the Texas public education system.

The groups involved in the new coalition which includes the Childrens Defense Fund, Human Rights Campaign and Texas AFT say books with diverse characters are necessary to reflect students experiences back to them while also exposing children to different realities.

A book in this moment is not only a friend to children, its a lifeline, said Michelle Castillo, deputy director of advocacy at the Intercultural Development Research Association. Its a liberation manual. Its a reminder that we are not alone in these bleak times.

A middle school student was also featured on the panel, saying that children deserve to have a voice in their education.

This generation is the future of our nation, said Avital, an 11-year-old. We deserve to hear the truth about our history so we arent doomed to repeat it.

The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.

The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from The Beck Group, Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Garrett and Cecilia Boone, The Meadows Foundation, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University and Todd A. Williams Family Foundation. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Labs journalism.

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Texas education groups mobilize for Teach the Truth campaign - The Dallas Morning News

Llano Countys Library Advisory Board will meet behind closed doors in the future after members complained of being intimidated by interruptions during regular public meetings, officials explained.

The board is exempt from the Texas Open Meeitngs law because it isnt a rule-making body.

That law defines a governmental body as, among other things, a deliberative body that has rule-making or quasi-judicial power and that is classified as a department, agency, or political subdivision of a county or municipality.

The library board is none of those things.

Llano County Judge Ron Cunningham said interruptions to board meetings in the past had the potential to lead to violence.

He said any recommendation made by the board to Llano County Commissioners Court would have to be acted on in open court sessions; otherwise, theres no way for the public to know what happens in Library Board meetings.

Cunningham also declined to discuss the firing of former Kingsland Library Director Suzette Baker other than to confirm that she was terminated. He couldnt comment further because of possible pending litigation, implying the Baker had threatened to sue the county.

Baker was reportedly fired earlier this month when she refused to remove books from library shelves as she was told to.

Jeanne Puryear, a Llano library patron who objects to not only the meeting closure but to the way the book removals have been handled, said shes never seen anything in a library board meeting that amounted to a threat.

There are those (people) that went direct to the (county) commissioners and the judge calling some books pornographic, she said.

She added thats not the process that should have been followed because the county had set up a system for patrons to ask that books be reviewed.

To be considered pornography, Puryear said, material has to incite people to indecency.

She said she, and others who also believe the library board is not acting properly, are thinking of filing a lawsuit against the county.

However, Puryear said no decision has been made about that yet.

Baker, the Kingsland librarian who was fired for refusing to comply with what she called censorship by taking books from the library shelves, said shes also consulting legal counsel about the possibility of filing suit against the county.

Originally posted here:
Censorship controversy leads to ousting of Kingsland librarian - The Highlander

A public artwork by Asian American photographer Tommy Kha has been unceremoniously removed from the Memphis International Airport in response to complaints from visitors.

The artwork, a performative self-portrait, depicts the artist dressed as Memphis icon Elvis Presley. Commissioned by the Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority (MSCAA), it was installed in the facilitys new B concourse in February.

But this week, Khawho was born in Memphis and has long had an interest in the iconography of Elvistook to social media to note that the artwork was no longer on display. After some disturbing complaints about my work, the artist wrote, it was decided, and without my knowledge, the pictures were removed.

Online, social media users speculated that the disturbing complaints related to Khas work had to do with the artists Asian American identity. Ive taken pride that [Kha] makes art on a national stage representing the unique view of Asians in the American South, said one Twitter user. Removing his work like this is hurtful.

Representatives from the MSCAA did not immediately respond to Artnet Newss request for comment, but in a statement shared with local news outlet ABC24, the organizations president and CEO Scott Brockman said that the Airport Authority has received a lot of negative feedback from Elvis fans in response to Khas artwork.

While we understand that the artist created the piece as a tribute to Elvis, the public reaction has been strong, leading us to revisit that original goal of avoiding the depiction of public figures in our art collection, Brockman continued. As a result, the airport determined it was best to temporarily remove the piece while we determine our best path forward.

The executive acknowledged that there were a small number of comments that included language that referred to Mr Khas race, which he called completely unacceptable. He said those comments did not form the basis of the authoritys decision.

Urban Art Commission, an independent public art non-profit based in Memphis that recommended Khas artwork and others for the airports newly established art collection, issued a statement yesterday condemning the works removal.

We worked very intentionally with the airport authority and selection committee to curate an art program that speaks to a diverse and authentic creative community representative of Memphis, the statement read. We are opposed to Tommy Khas installation being removed from display, especially considering the openly racist comments made online in the development of this situation.

The statement noted that the non-profits leaders have been in contact with MSCAA about re-installing the work.

Im quite disappointed as it was one of many artworks selected to hang in the new concoursean honor that connected me to the place where I grew up (having grown up in Whitehaven, minutes away from Graceland), and the opportunity gave me hope that artists like myself could be represented, Kha went on in his post. While I believe people are free to speak their minds, I do not agree that the removal was the right solution.

The artist did not immediately return an email from Artnet News.

Earlier today, an online petition was started demanding that Khas artwork be returned to the airport wall.

Continue reading here:
The Memphis Airport Is Facing Allegations of Censorship After It Removed an Asian American Artists Portrait of Himself as Elvis - artnet News

Cancel-culture on the political Left, generally defined as the shouting-down of dissenting voices, is real, and it's disturbing. But some of the conservatives who most loudly decry this phenomenon are themselves promoting even more disturbing versions of it.

The latest example is an unprecedented attempt by a Missouri legislator to outlaw any kind of speech that informs Missouri women about out-of-state abortion services. Taken together with conservative attempts to ban certain books and classroom discussion from schools, it's clear it isn't just the Left that's trying to stifle free speech. The Right is doing it, too, in ways that are demonstrably worse.

That's not to minimize the damage to free speech that occurs when dissenting voices are "canceled" by liberals on college campuses. The disturbing trend was explored in a recent New York Times op-ed by a University of Virginia senior, a self-described liberal, who has nonetheless felt pressured to self-censor on any issue that strays from liberal orthodoxy, even such questionable violations as defending Thomas Jefferson.

But one can recognize the dangers of socially coerced self-censorship while also understanding how much more dangerous it is when elected officials seek to impose the real thing by law on others.

That's what Missouri Republican state Rep. Mary Elizabeth Coleman seeks to do in a measure moving through the Legislature that has received national attention for its bizarre attempt to enforce Missouri's abortion restrictions even when Missourians go to other states, a clear violation of the Constitution.

A little-discussed aspect of the measure is an even clearer constitutional violation: It would criminalize "giving instructions over the telephone, the internet, or any other medium of communication regarding self-administered abortion or means of obtaining elective abortions; Hosting or maintaining a website, or providing internet service that allows Missouri residents to access any website, that encourages or facilitates efforts to obtain elective abortions." Coleman herself has said the measure would outlaw even the posting of billboards in Missouri providing information about out-of-state abortion services.

An elected official with a law degree is promoting a blatant violation of the First Amendment. Scarier still is that it's not significantly worse than some of the censorship her fellow elected Republicans are attempting around the country.

From the since-abandoned attempt to pull classic literature off the school shelves in Wentzville, to Florida's "Don't say 'gay' " bill, to growing restrictions around the country on teachers' ability to discuss race in any way, today's GOP has sought to cancel the free-speech cornerstone of the Constitution, using the hammer of law to do it. Voters should remember that the next time some conservative snowflake cries "censorship" because someone said something mean to them on Twitter.

REPRINTED FROM THE ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

Photo credit: stevepb at Pixabay

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Self-censorship on the Left Is Bad, but the GOP Is Attempting the Real Thing, by Daily Editorials - Creators Syndicate

Curriculum censorship

Regarding the WeTheParentsMB flier: I respectfully ask that you stop your disruptivenonsense now. You are attempting to stir up a problem that does not exist. We are proud of our Blue Ribbon schools status. Our children go on to attend the best universities in thecountry. People move to our community specifically for our high performing public schools. Curriculum censorship does not figure into a well-educated populace. You may consider taking your children elsewhere if control over their curriculum is what you seek. Or homeschool them.Marie Brown, Manhattan Beach

Bright day of justice

It is ignorant at best to trot out one phrase from Martin Luther King, Jr.s I Have A Dream speech and then use it to pretend that Dr. King would be on your side as you fight to erase Black history from school textbooks. A recent writer to your paper has done just that, and worse he claims that Dr. Kings dream for America has been realized. Let me reply, using Dr. Kings warning from that same speech: The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges. Fight on, anti-racists.

Carole Cooper, Manhattan Beach

Green line extension

Stop the Metro Green Line extension along the existing right of way freight line. Move it to where it makes more sense along Hawthorne Blvd.

I went on the LA Metro line walking tour to see the proposed Green Line extension along nearly 480 existing residences in the eastern portions of Redondo Council Districts 3 and 4. The proposed plan is to add another rail line literally a few feet away from the backyard fences of many residents. If built running through part of Redondo Beach residential neighborhoods, the Metro Green line will operate approximately 20 hours a day. During rush hour a train will pass every 7 to 8 minutes directly behind or by existing homes, over 100 of which are senior retirement dwellings! Can you imagine how horrible that would be?

Along with other concerned Redondo neighbors, I told the Metro people it makes more sense to build an elevated line along Hawthorne Blvd as that is where the original Red Cars traveled. Many real estate professionals have already stated that existing homes on the proposed route could see their values reduced using conservative estimates from $60 to $70 Million dollars for those 480 homes, or an average of $135+ Thousand dollars per homeowner dwelling.

Write to LA Metro and tell them to move the Green Line to Hawthorne Blvd.GreenLineExtension@metro.netOrGeorgia Sheridan, Project Manager MetroOne Gateway Plaza M/S 9922-SLos Angeles, CA 90012

Wayne Craig, Redondo Beach

Bruces Beach Park usage

Possibly twice a year for a few hours advocates for Bruces Beach Park are asking to celebrate a significant historic focal point. The result is that some view this as a threat to law and order. The apoplectic vitriol has generated so much fervor that all of a sudden our Parks & Recreation Commission and City Council find it necessary to review City Park policy for permits to access our cities parks.

This should be an opportunity for our community to come out and celebrate with others the peaceful liberation from bigotry on this spot that has brought national attention to Manhattan Beach and now highlights the change and observance that it deserves.

For most of us who recognize the real underlying hypocrisy, its time to encourage a better sense of community by stopping the back and forth, Next-Door Neighbor-Facebook, yelling at each other judgments of moral high ground. This behavior is confrontational and divisive. Our strength is our resolve to share inclusive values no matter who you are or where you come from. Thats our true beach culture.

Stewart Fournier, Manhattan Beach

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LETTERS to the Editor: Week of March 17 - Daily Breeze