Free expression gets the last word in "The ABCs of Book Banning"
8, 9, and 10 year olds share how they really feel when adults try to control how they think
Free expression is squarely at the heart of Sheila Nevins’s candid new documentary, a 27 minute film you must see and I know you’ll enjoy. Currently shortlisted with 14 other contenders in the documentary short film category, five will soon advance to the next round of Oscar voting. The official nominations announcement comes out one week from today.
Short films are generally 40 minutes or less, and I’ve seen a third of the contenders in this grouping already. The sheer variety of subject material each one covers is impressive. Tensions between Taiwan and China; the story of Black girls playing hand games; abolishing cash bail in Colorado; and children displaced by war, to name a few.
The reasons I’m highlighting “The ABCs of Book Banning” now are twofold: 1.) there is a school committee meeting near my home in the Berkshires next Thursday that would benefit from watching this before then; and, 2.) the impetus for the film is a woman who turned 101 last October, but is merely 100 in the film.
Meet Grace Linn, centenarian quilter. Ms. Linn lives in Florida, where a new law went into effect last July expanding parental rights in education. According to the legislation, classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity is prohibited in pre-K through 8th grade.
Ms. Linn’s husband Richard died in World War II at the age of 26, defending democracy. Here she explains why she’s so passionate about book bans and displays the beautiful quilt she made to drive home her point:
I love how she remarks, “My husband died as a father of freedom. I am a mother of liberty.” That a 101 year old woman is throwing this kind of righteous shade at Florida’s far-right extremist organization “Moms for Liberty” is, in a word, splendid.
Even so, the real stars of “The ABCs of Book Banning” are the elementary schoolchildren who present themselves with such disarming cool, I got a little choked up. If Ridley doesn’t give you hope for the future, nothing will. Check out this kid’s emotional intelligence:
Now that you’ve met two of “The ABCs” cast, allow me to explain the primary reason I endorse this film. As I alluded earlier, a recent incident in Great Barrington, MA came to my attention by way of the regional online publication I write a weekly column for, The Berkshire Edge.
Briefly, a concerned citizen went to the Great Barrington police last month to file a complaint about the book “Gender Queer.” The police then contacted the school and conducted a warrantless search for the book. Since then, the police chief has apologized, the school committee has gone into executive session, LGBTQIA+ students organized a walkout, and the teacher in question has taken a leave of absence—-and retained legal counsel.
Not surprisingly, the teacher was an advisor to the school’s Gay Straight Alliance. After the brouhaha also made national news, Gov. Maura Healey had this to say:
“Book banning has no place in Massachusetts. Our administration stands with educators who are committed to ensuring that their students have inclusive, comprehensive resources. I’m proud to see these students stepping up to support their teacher, their peers and an inclusive learning environment.”
Like Healey, PEN America takes free expression very seriously. It tracks book challenges, restrictions, and bans across the country and around the world. According to their findings, Florida “leads” the way with school book bans in the US. PEN America also found public school books bans increased 33% from the 2021-2022 school year to the 2022-2023 school year, for a total of 3,362 cases of books banned.
Of course, the most frequently banned writers are female, people of color, and LGBTQIA+ individuals. No surprise.
The good news? PEN American has joined a federal lawsuit challenging Florida’s disregard of students’ and writers’ free speech and equal protection interests. I feel great about their chances, because free expression always gets the last word.
“The ABCs of Book Banning” is available for streaming on Paramount+.