Dr. Padma Venkatraman: Sea Change in Censorship: Fighting the rising tide of book bans in our Ocean State
“I never thought I would see a day when a flood of censorship would threaten to drown freedom in our nation," said Dr. Venkatraman, "which is what is happening right now."
Over the last few years, attempts to censor books have surged throughout the United States, including Rhode Island, reaching the highest levels documented by the American Library Association (ALA).
Award-winning novelist and co-chair of Rhode Island Authors Against Book Bans (RIAABB) Dr. Padma Venkatraman spoke about the national rise in book bans. On Monday evening, they offered strategies to fight them at North Kingstown High School.
The event was hosted by Towards an Anti-Racist North Kingstown (TANK).
Dr. Venkatraman, whose work has been challenged, shared how community members can help protect the rights of all young people to access the books they need and deserve. Her books include Born Behind Bars, The Bridge Home, A Time to Dance, Island's End, and Climbing the Stairs. Her newest novel, Safe Harbor, which School Library Journal called “a must-read” in a starred review, is available for pre-order.
Dr. Venkatraman: I will discuss what we are doing and what you can do to help, no matter where you are coming from and how much energy you feel you have for this cause. Authors Against Book Bans is a recently formed organization, and I took up the Flaming Sword by assuming leadership for the Rhode Island chapter.
“I was once a little girl in India who loved to read, although I never came across heroines who looked like me. If characters did look like me, they were usually referred to as ugly, undesirable, savage, stupid, or all of those. I longed to change that - to write books that represented my voice with respect, and when I was seven, the power of words was brought alive to me in a horrible way. My best friend’s father was thrown into prison because he had exercised his constitutionally guaranteed right to free speech and voiced an opinion that the political party in power at that time disliked. It sounds like something that might have happened during the McCarthy era in the 1950s in our nation, but this happened in the 1970s in India, which was and is the world’s largest democracy because, luckily, it survived this time of censorship - as I hope our nation will too.
“As the only BIPOC female - meaning the only female of color - in my incoming graduate class in Virginia at the College of William and Mary, I learned that misogyny and racism in America were not things of the past. I had tense encounters with the police, saw a noose hanging in our yard, and experienced less overt forms of racism. Still, I decided to become an American citizen anyway because I fell in love with this country the moment I entered a public library and realized that I did not have to pay a cent when I got tired of reading books on thermodynamics and wanted to borrow a novel instead. I’m only half joking when I say I became a citizen because of public libraries. These secular halls secure our freedom to revel in knowledge and explore a variety of opinions. They have a mission and a mandate to provide something vital to the survival of every democracy - unlimited access to truth.
“I never thought I would see a day when a flood of censorship would threaten to drown freedom in our nation, which is what is happening right now. Book bans are growing exponentially, partly because the tactics to challenge books have changed. Book bans are having an inordinate impact on children’s literature. While I will show you numbers, please be aware that the situation is far worse because many attempts to censor content are not recorded. They’re considered soft censorship if they go unreported.
“After 2021, the average number of titles challenged grew by orders of magnitude. The record-breaking number of unique titles challenged in 2023 was 65% more than in 2022, and book challenges have changed significantly. They have shifted from individuals bringing a challenge against one book to groups trying to ban whole lists of books. It feels as if any and every institution that holds books can come under attack these days, and the people who curate these books - booksellers, teachers, and librarians -are dealing with cruelty, criticism, and, in some cases, even death threats, just for doing their jobs. Some states have banned hundreds of books at the State level. Challenges are being raised in record numbers.
“No state is free of censorship. Every state, including blue states like our beloved Rhode Island, has seen a massive upsurge in bans and challenges. If you’re wondering, books by Rhode Island creators have been banned outright in some states. Others have been subjected to soft censorship, which means that a library or a librarian may choose not to get that book into their library just because they’re scared that it might ruffle somebody’s feathers or a teacher might decide not to pull it off the shelf and not have it there for their kids...
“Many groups are driving these changes. Moms for Liberty1 is one of the biggest drivers. However, it’s not the only group seeking to fuel culture wars and promote censorship of stories that don’t reflect a white Christian Nationalist and hate-fueled agenda. Moms for Liberty began as an anti-public school and anti-teachers union but has pivoted to be against LGBTQ and particularly trans inclusion in schools. It’s against social-emotional learning and against what they consider to be CRT (critical race theory), which is something quite different from what they believe to be essential race theory, which is just anybody, brown or Black, who is writing a book.
“Banning books used to be isolated cases, but now groups are sharing long lists of books among organizers and eliciting public support. Since its inception in 2021, Moms for Liberty has appeared on several outlets like Fox and Steve Bannon’s Show. It is a nonprofit organization, but it had millions in revenue—$2.1 million in revenue in 2022, the bulk of which came from two anonymous mega-donors. Billionaires have also been associated with Moms for Liberty, happily giving funds to this organization.
“One of the things that this organization does very well is to fearmonger, telling people that by reading a book written by an LGBTQ+ author, somehow a child reading that book is going to have their gender identity mixed up, changed, or whatever else they’re talking about. They’re talking about people being groomers, authors, teachers, and librarians being groomers. Unfortunately, fear works. There have been several bipartisan bills to prevent public libraries from stocking ‘obscene’ children’s books. A prevailing belief is that pornographic books are being banned. Not enough people realize that authors with certain identities are being targeted. While I haven’t read every book on every list, I’m certain none would pass the Miller test, the high legal bar which, among other criteria, allows a book to be removed by censors only if taken in its entirety; it caters solely to the prurient interest.
“My novel Born Behind Bars was challenged,” said Venkatraman. “I heard that people objected because I’d stated in the author’s note that inordinately high numbers of innocent Black people are incarcerated in our nation. After this, my bookings for speaking engagements dropped noticeably.”
“Censorship prevents our access to diverse ideas and threatens our right to free expression,” says TANK President Jennifer Lima. “North Kingstown is not immune to these challenges, and we have been subject to pressure to remove specific titles from our classrooms and libraries.”
Wakefield Books sold select titles from Rhode Island authors and illustrators at the event.
About Dr. Padma Venkatraman: She won the We Need Diverse Books Walter Dean Myers Award, South Asia Book Award, Paterson Prize, Nerdie, Julia Ward Howe Book Award, Global Read Aloud, and the Malka Penn Honor. Her books have also been named a Prix des Libraries finalist, Sakura Medal finalist, Litterado Prize finalist, ALA Notable Book, Kirkus Best Book, New York Public Library Best Book, and Booklist Editor’s Choice.
About Towards an Anti-Racist North Kingstown (TANK): TANK is an organization of local Rhode Island students, teachers, parents, and allies dedicated to enacting antiracist policies in North Kingstown. We work to make North Kingstown a community that values every resident and treats all with decency, honor, and kindness.
About Authors Against Book Bans (AABB): AABB supports the availability of diverse voices on public and school library shelves and opposes any attempts to censor or ban books. They pledge to protect the rights of all young people to access the books they need and deserve.
Amy Rodrigues, Chapter Chair of Moms for Liberty - Washington County, was at the talk with her husband and Chapter Co-Chair Jasmine Roy:
“We spoke a lot tonight about Moms for Liberty, which was delightful. As the chapter chair of the only Rhode Island Moms for Liberty chapter, we have not challenged a single book in the last year that we’ve been here as a chapter. We have not banned, nor do I want to ban a book.
“That’s why I’m here tonight. I support not banning books. No books should be banned. You can buy a book from the library. It’s just about having age-appropriate material for children. That’s all that the conversation is about. I looked you up [Dr. Venkatramen]. I appreciate you. My husband is also an immigrant to this great country. It’s great that people can come here and live the American dream and be successful. That’s what we all want. I looked on BookLooks.org, a great website if you want to [know] why a book might’ve been challenged in a certain state. It shows the exact excerpts from every single book. I didn’t find [Dr. Vendatramen’s] book [there], which was delightful, so I was happy to come and hear you out, to find out what you are about. I love your story. It’s wonderful. I like what you’re doing.
“I can’t say that I like being lied about. We haven’t challenged a book in over a year [that] I’ve been the chapter chair. I come from Native American and Jewish descent, so to say that I would want to challenge somebody based on their color or their sexuality? We work with Gays Against Groomers. We have gay, different blended families in our organization. We are not against anybody. I want that quick.”
Moms for Liberty denies banning books. In their 111-page guide to challenging books in libraries, they write:
“Our group has been labeled ‘Book Banners,’ which is patently false. We do not want to burn books or take them out of circulation. If a parent believes their child should have access to these materials, they can check them out at a public library or purchase it. We are simply asking that sexually explicit, vulgar, and/or obscene materials not be available within our public schools, where parents have diminished control of what their children can access or read.”
Amy Rodriguez wrote about her visit to the talk on Facebook. Far from the conciliatory stance she took while speaking in public, her words on Facebook descended into conspiracy and accusations of ‘grooming.’
“Last night, my Vice Chair, my husband, and I attended TANK’s ‘Book Banning’ lecture, which featured author Padma Venkatraman, co-leader of Rhode Island Authors Against Book Bans (look them up).
“Of course, the entire lecture was based on a false ‘Book-banning’ narrative that claims my organization, Moms For Liberty - Washington County, RI, has been banning books around the state targeting BIPOC, Jewish, and LGBT authors. Wakefield Books was there to sell these ‘Banned’ books as well.
“I’m so glad I was there to help the 30+ community members, Progressive RI House Rep. Jennifer Stewart, NK School Committee member Jennifer Lima, and AntiFa apologist Steve Ahlquist understand that I, as the Chapter Chairwoman of the only RI Moms for Liberty chapter, and my chapter, have not challenged nor ‘Banned’ any books since the formation of my chapter over a year ago.
“The book-banning propaganda is nothing more than a grift for perverts looking for protection to groom children and authors looking for an angel to sell books. The groups who exist solely to lie to stoke fear and hatred are being exposed as the bad actors that they are and will be stopped.”
How people can imagine that their words and actions can’t be verified is beyond me. It’s just silly - and perverse…
I do not believer the moms for liberty spokesperson as every time you hear abput book banning in RIbMoms for Liberty are part of the effort. Dirty lying Trumpists.