Upcoming Meeting Highlight: Meet the Authors
Ban This! How One School Fought Two Book Bans and Won (And How You Can Too)
Summary
In September 2021, the school board in York, Pennsylvania, voted to remove a record-breaking number of books from school libraries in its community. The Panther Anti-Racist Union (PARU) at Central York High School, comprised of four students and two advisors, successfully fought the ban by organizing protests, speaking at school board meetings, and participating in media interviews to raise awareness.
In Ban This!: How One School Fought Two Book Bans and Won (and How You Can Too), the members of PARU―Christina Ellis, Renee Ellis, Edha Gupta, Ben Hodge, Patricia A. Jackson, Olivia Pituch―give actionable advice on how to respond to book challenges that happen in your school and community. Learn how to push back against book bans with arguments against the common reasons given to ban books in schools and public libraries, speak out against censorship, and win the right to intellectual freedom.
Guest Speakers:
Patricia A. Jackson is a 33-year veteran in education. She spent the first half of her career as an administrator and teacher in the School District of the City of York. The latter half has been teaching World Literature and Creative Writing at Central York High School. A fierce LGBTQIA+ advocate, Ms. Jackson facilitates The Beautiful People, a student-run club that creates safe spaces for teens within the school community.
Ben Hodge is a 23 year veteran of the classroom and stage. He teaches Acting and Speech classes and serves as the artistic director for his high school. A passionate advocate for Education Policy and Diversity initiatives, he created the Panther Anti-Racist Union in 2020 to establish a space for students to have courageous conversations and advocacy regarding social justice issues.
Community. Solidarity. Progress.
Hanover for Progress is a Democratic organization dedicated to advancing public policy that embraces transparency, diversity, and equality through locally based activism in the greater Hanover area.