The PEN Pod: What It Means to Be Essential with Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
“Right now, we see. . . how human beings need to be afforded the full range of emotions, and how that is a right that we have, and people… More
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PEN America On 
"Like most Americans, you might believe books have a settled status in our culture—that even if they contain sexual material, they’re protected by the #FirstAmendment," writes @dankois.
Now, Republicans in VA are asking a judge to change US obscenity law. https://slate.com/culture/2022/08/book-banning-republicans-gender-queer-obscenity-supreme-court.html
“When we read these books... everyone is in agreement that (they) are very educational and should be allowed in our classrooms,” says Vandegrift High School Banned Book Club co-founder Alyssa Hoy. "They start very tough conversations that need to be had.” https://nextcity.org/urbanist-news/how-teens-are-pushing-back-on-book-bans
A teacher in Florida wanted to inspire Black children with pictures of Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman, Colin Powell and George Washington Carver.
He has resigned because, he alleges, a district employee removed the pictures as "age inappropriate."
https://www.pnj.com/story/news/local/escambia-county/2022/08/10/escambia-county-florida-teacher-said-pictures-black-american-leaders-removed-his-class/10276112002
