50 signatures reached
To: Local, State, and Federal Michigan Elected Officials
Let Michigan Kids Read!
Republicans and the far-right have continued their crusade to ban books and restrict what Michigan children and families can access.
Michigan children continue to experience some of the worst declines in literacy compared to other states. And yet, extremists want to further limit the freedom to read. These blatant attempts at censorship are hurting our children the most.
We trust Michigan families and youth to decide what to read. If you agree, add your name to the petition to demonstrate that Michiganders oppose banning books!
Why is this important?
Earlier this year, Lapeer Community Schools removed 83 titles and put them under review—with titles focused on LGBTQ+ youth, human rights, and Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian American, and other communities of color disproportionately stripped from shelves.
The memoir “All Boys Aren't Blue” by George M. Johnson about growing up queer and Black in America. Gabby Rivera’s “Juliet Takes a Breath,” a coming-of-age story about a Puerto Rican lesbian finding herself. Jonathan Evison’s “Lawn Boy,” which tells the story of a young Chicano man navigating racism and poverty while trying to forge his own American dream.
These are the books that extremists want to remove from schools and libraries. And this blatant censorship is happening on a local, state, and federal level.
A conservative group, Capitol Resource Institute, launched their dystopian “Take Back the Classroom” initiative. The group has a massive database of books they deem inappropriate, and databases for school districts across the country with flagged titles.The group has tracked flagged 18,474 books across more than 1,700 schools in Michigan alone, and has toolkits on how to file book removal requests.
This dangerous wave of censorship threatens our public schools and libraries, and what families and young people have access to read and learn about. This isn’t just about banning books—it’s about restricting the imaginations of young people.
We need every single elected leader—from Michigan school district boards to federal legislators—to defend and protect the freedom to read. Sign the petition now.