The American Library Association says there were nearly 1,300 demands from various members of the public to censor library books and resources last year."The amount of attempts to ban books or censor books in New Jersey and around the country has just skyrocketed," said State Sen. Andrew Zwicker.
The media outlet Tap into Roxbury recorded videos from a Board of Education meeting Tuesday night in Roxbury. Some parents wanted nine books in Roxbury High School's library banned - mostly books like "Gender Queer: a Memoir" that discuss LGBTQ subjects. It's been a fight all school year with librarian Roxana Caivano. She decides which books are available, including books about both queer love and straight love."If a public library is going to ban or censor a book, then the state has the authority to hold some or all of their public funding," Zwicker said.
The proposal also comes as poet and author Amanda Gorman announced on social media that her book, "The Hill we Climb," read during President Biden's inauguration,The Roxbury BOE voted 6 to 4 to keep the nine books in question in the high school's library. One can be checked out only with a parent's permission."Change is difficult and what we're seeing right now is people who are uncomfortable with some of this change being very, very loud," he said.