1. For Keeping King & King For Restricting King & King
ACLU
Prior knowledge of the prominent role this group holds in
upholding the freedom of speech led me to place this
group quickly and easily. However, the group’s
homepage is filled with headlines and articles that assert
the importance of fighting suppression, defending liberty,
and empowering communities. There is a blog titled
“Speak Freely,” and they self-describe their mission as
“working hard to defend and preserve individual liberties”
(ACLU). For these reasons, I feel confident that the
ACLU would stand behind the decision to keep King &
King available for student use in the library.
American Family Association
The inflammatory headlines present on this sight
instantly led me to place this group into a conservative
perspective. Their website features a blog titled, “The
Stand,” which draws together arguments from people
identifying instances they claim will destroy “the family”
(aka traditional male-female-child relationships) and tear
down society. Among these offenses would be exposure
to homosexuality, so it safe to say this group would not
find it acceptable to have a book such as King & King
available to students, especially not elementary aged.
American Library Association’s Office
for Intellectual Freedom
One of the basic principles the ALA follows is “Every
book its reader.” As a group within this organization
charged with ensuring the upkeep of this principal, the
Office for Intellectual Freedom clearly supports keeping
titles like King & King, which contain “controversial”
material, available in schools. The first thing that stood
out to me was the headline “Facing a Challenge?...Call
us!” Not only are they responsible for educating
individuals on the importance of fighting censorship
through projects such as Banned Books Week and
Choose Privacy Week, but they also serve to “support
librarians, teachers, and administrators undergoing a
material or service challenge” (ALA). The website itself
offers a multitude of resources to draw from regarding
intellectual freedom.
Eagle Forum
This group clearly identifies its conservative, “pro-family”
position (read: anti-non-traditional families position) on
the homepage. More in-depth searching into the group
furthers my belief that they would adamantly oppose
access to controversial titles in schools. The group
provides a link to a document titled, “Mandate to Save
America” which sets forth doctrine to renew the nation
through a biblical approach. They claim freedom and
justice can be found only through these doctrines, which
include items such as acknowledging a central faith in
America, saving traditional marriage (a man and a
woman), and allowing parents to control their children’s
educations by protecting them from “immoral instruction.”
They describe themselves as supporting “traditional
education” and want to eradicate illiteracy but “deplore
the dumbing down of American curriculum through fads
such as…diversity and multi-culturalism.”
National Coalition Against Censorship
If the name of the group doesn’t give it away, this group
is against censorship and would be against restricting
access to controversial books like King & King. Their
website did give me a shock at first when a painting with
nearly-naked bodies flashed on my screen with my 5
year old son right next to me. However, this group clearly
states its position on intellectual freedom at the top of its
website: “Freedom to explore; Freedom to think;
Freedom to create.” The group works diligently to
advocate for intellectual freedom and to educate others
on “hot topics” regarding censorship attempts. There are
resources to aid individuals in dealing with censorship
attempts at a variety of levels (students, teachers,
authors, librarians, etc), and there is even a way to
report censorship attempts to the group through the
website.
Focus on the Family
This group provides resources for families to discuss
contemporary social issues such as homosexuality
through a biblical lens. At a glance, the attitude is not as
inflammatory as some of the other groups in this
category, but it is apparent that Focus on the Family
would not support having controversial titles available in
schools. (This site actually mentions the reading of King
& King in a third grade classroom and insinuates it is
inappropriate.)
People for the American Way PABBIS
2. Words like “suppression” and “discrimination” jumped out
at me from the homepage for this group. As I searched
more into the issues they cover, I found that this group
fights for equality for all, freedom of speech, religious
liberty, and more. Their vision is an America that
respects diversity, nurtures creativity and combats
hatred and bigotry” (People). Also, one of their founding
values is fighting for schools and the opportunity and
freedom to learn. It seems likely that this group would
fight to keep controversial titles available in schools,
especially if the content supports student learning
(whether formal or informal)
.
The group’s name is a dead giveaway for its stance on
controversial titles in schools: Parents Against Bad
Books In Schools. That said, this page still shocked me.
It is filled with highly inflammatory language that
insinuates the ignorance of educators—how DARE we
allow material to be present in schools that may be
counter to some individuals’ beliefs (nevermind the fact
that schools are intended to educate all students—not
just those who are WASPs). Not only does this group
encourage parents to actively search school libraries and
curriculum for material they may disagree with, but it
guides them in steps to take to attempt to censor the
material for their children and others. Their claims that
school are corrupting children and have no limits as to
what is inacceptable to use in the classroom only serve
to agitate parents.
Electronic Frontier Forum
Dedicated to defending civil liberties in the digital world,
EFF claims to “champion user privacy, free expression,
and innovation.” Their previous work delves into
protecting users rights on social media sites such as
Facebook, ensuring content is used within the
parameters of intellectual property guidelines (while still
promoting fair use), and more! Because more digital
content is entering library collections, it is imperative to
understand the positions of groups such as EFF on
issues regarding content censorship. This group would
certainly not be on the conservative side of access to
information and resources, thus I believe they would
support possession and use of controversial titles in
schools.
Parents for Protecting the Children
This group claims to not want to remove books from
libraries but merely protect parents’ rights to censor what
their own children are exposed to. The website itself is
unimpressive—it does have a link titled “What’s in the
Books” that features headlines meant to shock parents,
such as “School Library Porn in Arkansas” and “Excerpts
from 35 Shocking Books…(Worse than the first 20, if
possible).” Many of their concerns lie in the sexually
explicit nature of passages found in books, though
concerns of violence arise also. Aside from this, there is
little information provided for users. It honestly has the
feel of a disgruntled group of citizens creating a
webpage to raise awareness for a select few books
found in their community.
This site does provide two forms for users as resources
to challenge books—a patron request for reconsideration
and a student opt-out notice. Both of these are available
as blank copies or as examples to reference.
