School districts nationwide banned more than 4,000 books last year, according to the American Library Association. Nearly half of those dealt with racial or LGBTQ topics. California’s Temecula Unified School District tried to censor a textbook that included a lesson on Harvey Milk, the gay San Francisco Supervisor and activist who was assassinated in 1978. In response, last year, the state enacted a law that forbids school boards from banning books about race or LGBTQ people.
In the face of all this, the organization Open Books is donating what it calls “LGBTQ+ affirming literature” to public schools, including every elementary campus in the LAUSD. Los Angeles resident Morgan Walsh co-founded the nonprofit around 2014 with her friend Keiko Feldman.
Walsh, a mom of three kids, recalls that a few years ago, she saw a lack of space for imaginative play and free expression, especially when it came to boys, so she started a Facebook page to connect with other families and share stories.
“Even living in a place as seemingly progressive as Los Angeles, and even being a part of an arts community, I'm just surprised at how difficult people find gender nonconformity,” she says.
How does Open Books select and acquire the books to donate now?
“The list that we donate has been officially endorsed by the Human Rights Campaign, by HRC. We are not educators, we are moms, we're parents. And what we do is we seek counsel from educators. And we also look for books that are new books, that schools won't have. All of the books that we donate are age-appropriate and acclaimed books.”
She continues, “These are educators, they're the boots on the ground, they see the kids hiding in the libraries at lunchtime. They know their students, and they're also committed to having a well-rounded library in their school. … A really basic part of education is to make sure all different kinds of stories are represented in a library, certainly in the United States.”
Currently, the organization donates 12 books that all touch on feeling like an outsider in society, Walsh points out.
“It's to acknowledge that there are all kinds of feelings, the human experience is vast. … It's a beautiful thing that this country is made up of so many different kinds of people. … There are LGBTQ kids in every single school in this country. And the choice is whether you help them feel okay about themselves, help them feel valued and loved, or you actively hurt them.”
As for pushback, it’s been varied but overall less than expected, she shares. For example, some districts don’t respond to the group’s outreach.
“We also are a small organization pushing this boulder uphill. And maybe if we were actively pursuing districts in Texas and in Florida … we might see more pushback.”
She adds, “We would love to be in these districts where there's really no positive messaging. There are kids who don't get any positive messaging at home, and don't get any positive messaging at school. And that is just heartbreaking. It's actually also heartbreaking for all students. … Behind our reasoning in donating these books is that we firmly believe they don't just benefit kids who identify as LGBTQ at all, they benefit all students.”
