THE HIGHLAND FASHIONISTA LIBRARY OF BANNED BOOKS

At Highland Fashionista, the freedom for anyone to tell his or her story is sacrosanct. Recent far-right legislation being signed into law in the U.S. has started a cascade of book removals from school libraries, leaving bookshelves barren and educators feeling like they have targets on their backs. Unsurprisingly, the materials being removed largely represent stories by and about the LGBTQIA+ community and people of color.  ​These bans vary by state and even county, and often are enacted after one (yes, just one) complaint. They say knowledge is power (true), but knowledge is also compassion, joy, ecstasy, empathy, pain, fear, sorrow, anger, forgiveness, and love. Sometimes gaining new knowledge may push your buttons a bit.  It's supposed to. That's how we grow. Exposure to stories about people whose life experiences may differ vastly from those of our own enhances our innate human ability to connect and learn. To put it plainly, learning to hold space for other people is essential in cultivating a society not populated by idiots. ​If you'd like to do your part in helping the up and coming generations hear the diverse and amazing stories of the diverse and amazing humans of our planet, I'm happy to help. ​This list was orginally based on an article from the Miami New Times, 25 April 2023, but has since grown arms and legs under our new authoritarian overlords. Therefore, I have linked to the PEN America resources on their website, where you can follow along with all the latest updates in what is and isn't available.