Strong responses to lawmakers' push to allow for removing books from school libraries

David Plazas, Nashville Tennessean
·2 min read

Good morning, readers:

Tennessee lawmakers ended their legislative session in late April by voting to expand the Textbook and Instructional Materials Quality Commission and setting the stage for allowing blanket book removals across public school libraries statewide.

A poll by the nonpartisan, nonprofit Forward TN showed that three-fifths of Tennessee citizens strongly oppose book bans, although the youngest, 18-34, are less likely (15%) than seniors, 65-plus (39%), to support bans in some cases.

The Nashville Public Library launched a "Freedom to Read" campaign and is signing up patrons for a limited-edition "I Read Banned Books" library card. NPL Director Kent Oliver talked about the campaign and librarians' longtime support for the First Amendment in a guest opinion column.

"What we as librarians and readers cannot accept is the idea that a few people have the right to decide what is appropriate for everyone. And that’s why now, more than ever, we need everyone to stand up for their intellectual freedom," Oliver wrote.

The Nashville Public Library has unveiled a new "I Read Banned Books" library card celebrating the "right to read" in light of efforts to ban certain books in Tennessee.
The Nashville Public Library has unveiled a new "I Read Banned Books" library card celebrating the "right to read" in light of efforts to ban certain books in Tennessee.

Meanwhile, textbook commission member Laurie Cardoza Moore wrote a defense of the legislation in her own guest opinion column. She argued that the bill was needed to "ensure the books are not promoting pornographic, racist, antisemitic and anti-American content to our children."

She is a critic of NPL's campaign, although I included an editor's note to clarify that Oliver is, in fact, not promoting the above content.

Do you agree or disagree with this week's viewpoints? Let me know, and I invite you to write your own letter to the editor. Send it to letters@tennessean.com.

Scroll to read the related essays.

Here are a couple of other selections in this week's newsletter:

  • The Memphis Commercial Appeal columnist Lynn Norment writes about the need to stem the rising addiction crisis that worsened during COVID-19.

  • East Tennesseans Jenny and Randy Boyd call on creating a sustainable fund to pay for maintaining the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

  • Singer-songwriter Charlie Worsham writes a personal essay about his experience with marching band, how it led him to a music career and why he supports music education.

Candidate forums start today

Today begins the series of six statewide gubernatorial and congressional candidate forums organized by the USA TODAY Network - Tennessee in partnership with the University of Tennessee system and Lipscomb University. Find the schedule here, and sign up for tickets. Admission is free, but a ticket is required. You can also stream Thursday's forum live from this link.

Thank you!

David Plazas is the director of opinion and engagement for the USA TODAY Network Tennessee. Email him at dplazas@tennessean.com, call him at (615) 259-8063 or tweet to him at @davidplazas. Subscribe to a USA TODAY Network Tennessee publication.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Banned Books: Removing texts from Tennessee school libraries