by Talia Southgate, AIWC Frankfurt
I am here to tell you that being on the receiving end of an online hate campaign absolutely sucks. I do not recommend it. Two thumbs down. Zero out of five stars.
Amanda Jones, a long-time school librarian and author of That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America, is an everyday hero. She became the target of an online smear campaign after speaking up at her public library in an effort to protect libraries from book bans. Even though public and school libraries have clear processes and procedures in place for challenged books, these processes are no longer being followed, and books are being pulled from the shelves.
As a result, Amanda feels it is necessary to fight these attacks on intellectual freedom despite the fallout: “I happen to see my support of marginalized groups as an issue of morality and basic human empathy and not as a political matter.” Her experiences bring awareness to the difficult but necessary conversations around censorship, access to information and representation.
Within the last five years, the United States has experienced a historic high in book censorship. Despite the attempted character assassination, Amanda is not backing down: “All students deserve to see themselves and their families represented in the books on the shelves of our school and public libraries. I will not allow my fear of being targeted to stop me from serving every student equally.”
She takes this responsibility seriously and remains a fierce opponent against those who wish to marginalize and silence minority groups. As a proud member of Louisiana Citizens Against Censorship, “she feels less alone knowing other women are willing to speak up for intellectual freedom and against hate and censorship.” Amanda encourages others to join her and hopes for a better future. A library should be a safe space where all members of a community can foster a love of literature and see themselves reflected in the collection of books within. Amanda says “libraries are for everyone.”
