Book Banning Fascists Moms for Liberty is Now Trying to Ban Scholastic Book Fairs from Schools.
The Oklahoma chapter of Moms for Liberty wants to ban Scholastic Book Fairs from schools, claiming their books push "radical viewpoints" and "sexual ideologies".
After losing overwhelmingly in school board elections during the 2023 election cycle, Moms for Liberty is continuing in its book-banning crusade—with its eyes set on a new target: Scholastic Book Fairs.
The Oklahoma chapter of Moms for Liberty is calling for the state to ban all Scholastic Book Fairs, claiming Scholastic Book Fairs impose “radical viewpoints and sexual ideologies”.
Moms for Liberty is now calling on state superintendent Ryan Walters to investigate and shut down Scholastic Book Fair in the state of Oklahoma, a school tradition that has been taking place since 1981.
Moms for Liberty is pointing at two books as examples of books with “radical viewpoints”: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas and Heartstopper by Alice Oseman.
Moms for Liberty wants The Hate U Give banned for having racism and profanity.
Moms for Liberty says Heartstopper is inappropriate for schools due to having make out sessions, sexual activity, gender ideology, violence, and profanity.
The Hate U Give, which derives its name from the Tupac acronym THUG LIFE (The Hate U Give Little Infants F**** Everybody), tells the story of a young teenager named Starr Carter in the aftermath of witnessing the police shoot her friend Khalil. It debuted at number one on the New York Times Bestsellers list and won the Edgar Allan Poe award for best Young Adult Novel in 2018.
Heartstopper is the award-winning graphic novel series by Alice Oseman that follows the centers around the relationship between two high school boys from the United Kingdom named Charlie Spring and Nick Nelson. Charlie struggles with an eating disorder after being outed by a fellow peer and being bullied for being gay. Nick is a rugby player who struggles to come out as bisexual out of fear of being bullied by peers and rejected by his family.
Moms for Liberty is now asking state superintendent Ryan Walters to ban Scholastic Book Fair from the state of Oklahoma and for a new vendor to be found.
This is what Moms for Liberty said in a statement:
"We condemn the current nature of the business that Scholastic is exhibiting and look forward to alternative publishers and book fair companies embracing materials dedicated to building academia, character, and morality of our youth while respecting the values and traditions of parents.”
State Superintendent Ryan Walters stated in a press release that they are investigating, as “Superintendent Walters is always concerned and vigilant about eliminating woke indoctrination in the classroom.”
Scholastic in a statement said that they are "committed above all to supporting every child’s journey to learn to read and love to read, in partnership with schools and families."
Though Moms for Liberty claims to be in favor of “parents’ rights”, it is important to highlight that the majority of the U.S. electorate does not stand in favor of Moms for Liberty’s book banning quest. Multiple polls have found that book banning is an idea that Americans universally reject. A 2022 poll by Every Library Institute found that some 75% of voters said “preventing book banning” was important to them when voting, with 43% saying it was “very important.” A 2023 NPR/IPSOS poll found that the majority of people across the political spectrum oppose book bans, with even 52% of Republicans standing against book bans.