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From William Shakespeare to Margaret Atwood, censoring literature has a long history. Books, publications, and media are censored for a variety of reasons, including profanity, sexual content, and, most commonly, for opposing dominant ideological beliefs.

Many works we now regard as classics were at one time challenged, banned, or burned. King Lear was banned during the reign of King George III, who experienced periods of madness. In 1931, the Chinese province of Hunan banned Alice in Wonderland because animals should not use human language and [because] it was disastrous to put animals and humans on the same level. In 2019, Americans demanded that Atwoods The Handmaids Tale which has its own long history of controversy and censorship be removed from public libraries due to profane language and sexual overtones.

A more visceral form of censorship is found in book burnings. In 1932, James Joyce told an American publisher that some very kind person bought and subsequently burned a first edition of Dubliners. The following year, one of the most infamous book burnings in history occurred in Nazi Germany. A variety of un-German books from Germans such as communist founder Karl Marx and social critic Thomas Mann, along with undesirable foreign influences, including Ernest Hemingway and Helen Keller, were burned to bring German arts and culture in line with Nazi goals.

Dr. Pearce Carefoot contends that the first serious efforts at censoring printed materials in Canada happened during World War I. The War Measures Act (1914) enabled the government to censor, control, and suppress certain publications, writings, maps, plans, photographs, communications, and means of communication. It was likely an attempt to limit pro-German propaganda.

Despite societal advancements in human rights and liberties, over 100 years later we are still faced with attempted censorship. Banning and censoring literature, publications, and media fosters ignorance and hostility in society and creates a skewed education for new generations by restricting certain ideas, identities, and beliefs.

In summer 2022, heated debates arose regarding the banning of books from the Chilliwack School District. Several board of education trustees advocated for the removal of books with inappropriate content. One of the books in question was All Boys Arent Blue by George M. Johnson, an award-winning Black non-binary author, writer, and activist. The book is a series of personal essays detailing their experiences growing up as a Black queer youth in America, discussing a wide range of topics including gender identity, consent, and toxic masculinity.

In an interview with the Gay and Lesbian Association Against Defamation, Johnson explained that they knew the book could be controversial. I told my team very early on that I knew that this book at some point would get banned simply because I knew that the content that was in the book was something that we hadnt seen much of [which is] what the Black queer experience looked like.

As public debate continued, Trustee Darrell Furgason sent a letter to the Chilliwack Progress in response to the controversy. He stated that no trustee, teacher, administrator or librarian should have the freedom to place books in our district school libraries that contain depictions of sex acts. He then continued to argue that fellow-Trustee Willow Reichelt has no right to promote any sexual practices whatsoever in the school district, even if they are practised by the LGBTQ community.

A similar attempt at censorship occurred this January when protestors gathered outside the Coquitlam Public Library during Conni Smudges Drag Queen Story Time. Smudge has been holding these events at libraries in British Columbia for over a decade. While one protestor in a Global News video yelled that the story time was child abuse, hundreds of people came to support Smudge and the story time. For Smudge, these events are intended to help children embrace themselves and each other. I think this lights up the world to let everybody know they can be exactly who they wanna be, Smudge said. Similar events across North America have also been met with heavy protest.

Whether it is removing books from libraries or canceling Drag Queen Story Times, censoring certain perspectives, identities, and beliefs creates an ignorant and uneducated society that negatively affects ourselves and future generations. These acts of censorship are attempts to shelter people, often children and youth, from certain ideas and ways of life, which often comes at the expense of the LGBTQ+ community. It is as if critics believe that banning certain books will somehow eliminate them from society. As George M. Johnson said, There is a great fear of what happens if this new generation actually operates with the truth.

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It's time to stop fostering ignorance and silencing voices - The Martlet

Amid the fierce debate surrounding what should and should not be taught in classrooms, some far-right-leaning lawmakers have introduced legislation and taken significant steps to limit educators ability to discuss race, gender, and sexuality in the classroom.

Florida is spearheading culture wars in the classroom with discussions surrounding so-called CRT and anti-woke legislation such as the recent decision by the College Board to exclude important topics from the Advanced Placement (AP) African American Studies curriculum. Floridas Dont Say Gay laws restrict classroom instruction and discussion on sexual orientation, gender identity and transgender issues. Despite an imbalance in media coverage, higher education is also affected. The Stop Woke Act was designed to limit how Florida professors could teach race and sex threatening tens of millions of dollars in funding restrictions to colleges and universities that dared to teach things like the effects of colonialism, Reconstruction, and social movements like Black Lives Matter.

Thanks to the hard work of civic groups, advocacy organizations and freedom fighters, a federal appeals court has halted enforcement of Stop Woke in Florida universities. Anti-equity bills and legislation, like what is emerging in Florida, deny students the opportunity to learn about our complex history in the context of current events.

I recently had a conversation with Florida state senator Shevrin D. Jones about the so-called critical race theory debate. In this discussion, Its About Power, Not People, we unpacked the impact of the increased censorship of Black history and LGBTQ+ topics in schools and what advocates can do to stop the aggressive legislation that we are seeing come forth. Watch the full conversation below.

At Ed Trust, we are focused on taking a stand against the threats waged on schools and educators with our campaign, Cant Be Erased (#CantBeErased). Without an accurate understanding of the past, it is difficult to recognize and address the root causes of systemic issues such as racism, inequality, and injustice that continue to affect this country today.

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Censorship is About Power, Not People - The Education Trust

Wanda Nara is no stranger to sharing racy and revealing posts to her social media accounts.

In a recent wardrobe malfunction, the entrepreneur, influencer and presenter let a breast slip while interacting with her followers on a live stream.

On this occasion, though, Nara, in yet another sensual upload, drew on an unorthodox tool to prevent the same incident from occurring, and that was an emoji of a cookie.

Many celebrities have been known to employ ingenious methods of bypassing nudity regulations on social media sites.

Instagram, for instance, cannot censor an image that does not feature an element of nudity, such as nipples.

Nara is the owner of an underwear brand that she promotes via her social media accounts.

She is often seen flaunting her clothing line online, much of which seems to be almost entirely transparent.

In this particular post, the 36-year-old sported a newly released item of hers that is, you guessed it, essentially see-through.

While social media sites continue impose the same set of nudity regulations, celebrities and influencers alike will continue to look for creative ways to push the boundaries.

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Wanda Nara employs impromptu nudity censorship method in light of wardrobe malfunction - Marca English

The U.S. Secretary of Education has joined a Democrat chorus characterizing the removal of pornographic materials from libraries and schools as book banning and censorship.

Miguel Cardonas comments came after emails revealed he conspired with a liberal school board group to have the Department of Justice label parents as domestic terrorists.

As U.S. secretary of education, as well as a father and lifelong educator, heres what I know to be true: Parents dont want politicians dictating what their children can learn, think and believe. Thats not how public education is supposed to work in a free country, Cardona wrote in an op-ed in the Tampa Bay Times on Thursday.

Ironically, some of the very politicians who claim to promote freedom are banning books and censoring what students can learn, Cardona said.

The opinion piece was a not-so-veiled shot at Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has led the fight against inappropriate materials in public schools.

In Florida, pornographic and inappropriate materials that have been snuck into our classrooms and libraries to sexualize our students violate our state education standards, the governor said in a statement on Wednesday,which included a video presentation.

When DeSantis discussed the content of the books, several news stations cut their live feed of the event to comply with U.S. laws that prevent the transmission of pornographic materials, despite the fact the liberal media argue the books are appropriate for schools.

While Cardona claims to promote freedom, critics argue Democrats are really waging a war against parents. Indeed, President Joe Biden seemed to tell a group of teachers nearly a year ago that children are actually theirs.

Theyre all our children. Theyre not somebody elses children. Theyre like yours when theyre in the classroom, Biden told the teachers.

His comments echoed those of the former Democratic governor of Virginia, Terry McAuliffe, who said in 2021, I dont think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.

In a now infamous memo, Bidens attorney general, Merrick Garland, after prodding from the National School Boards Association, compared parents who complain to school boards to domestic terrorists.

It later turned out the slur was solicited from the school board association by Cardona himself, according to emails revealed by Fox News.

This is about intimidation. This is about chilling free speech, U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan claimed of Cardona and Garland.

Jordan is leading a subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee investigating how Cardona and others have tried to weaponize the government against citizens, including parents.

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Bidens education secretary charges censorship after conspiring ... - The Lion

The far-right conservative advocacy group, Republicans for National Renewal, has accused Instagram of censorship amid a scuffle with the social network over the group's banned account.

The group posted a message to its official Twitter account March 14, stating that it had been "permanently banned" from Instagram, supposedly on the grounds that it was believed to be a fake account. Furthermore, the group claimed that the platform has all but completely limited its ability to appeal the decision.

Republicans for National Renewal was founded by attorney Mark Ivanyo in early 2020 in the wake of that year's Conservative Political Action Conference and in the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election. A Mother Jones report from the time described it as a "group of far-right activists" advocating for the mainstream Republican Party to more firmly "embrace national populism." Other reports described it more generally as friendly to former President Donald Trump and in favor of "nationalist and populist" political ideologies.

"We have been permanently banned from [Instagram], not for anything we said on there, but for supposedly being a fake account," the group tweeted. "We're not allowed to appeal, as IG doesn't even allow the request to be processed. This is disgraceful censorship."

As of Tuesday, Instagram has not commented on the matter and the account remains inaccessible. The group has maintained a presence on other platforms, like Twitter and Facebook, with the latter operated by Meta, which also owns Instagram, muddying the group's claims of censorship.

Newsweek has reached out to Republicans for National Renewal and Instagram via email for comment.

On its official website, the group centers its message and goals explicitly around Trump, claiming that he "stands largely alone in advocating a bold, populist vision for our country."

"Years after Donald Trump's groundbreaking 2016 victory, we have yet to see the fundamental change within the Republican Party that we need in order to truly reflect the will of the voters," the group's official website states. "On issues from immigration to infrastructure, Trump stands largely alone in advocating a bold, populist vision for our country. It is time to change that. By assisting activists in taking over the party apparatus and pushing Republicans in Congress to back our President's agenda, Republicans for National Renewal intends to be at the forefront of that fight."

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The group's advocacy largely comes in the form of endorsing candidates for political office. On Sunday, it officially endorsed Trump in the 2024 presidential race, shortly after rumors began to emerge that he would soon be indicted by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.

Over the years, events hosted by the GOP activist group have been attended by numerous far-right Republicans, including Paul Gosar, Louie Gohmert, Matt Gaetz, Kari Lake and Blake Masters.

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Far-Right Republican Group Sounds Censorship Alarm Over Instagram Ban - Newsweek