Activism grows nationwide in response to school book bans

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH and HILLEL ITALIE
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — The wave of book bannings around the country has reached a level not seen for decades. So has the level of the response. It ranges from local activists like the Florida Freedom to Read Project, founded by two mothers living in Orange County, to a lawsuit filed in Missouri by the American Civil Liberties Union aimed at preventing districts from banning books like “Gender Queer” and “The Bluest Eye.” A national group opposed to what it calls a “Leftist agenda” for public schools says the goal isn’t to remove books entirely, but to get some titles it alleges are pornographic off K-12 school shelves.