Standing Up for the Freedom to Read Amanda Jones’ Fight Against Censorship and Intimidation

[Social Media]

 

Amanda Jones' new book, “That Librarian,” tells a deeply personal and gripping story of one woman’s battle against censorship in America’s public libraries. The official subtitle of the book, “The Fight Against Book Banning in America,” seems understated given the intensity of Jones' experiences. A more fitting subtitle might be “The Memoir and Manifesto of a Freedom Fighter” or “Dispatches From the Trenches of America’s Culture War.”

 

These alternatives capture the courage and resilience that define Jones’ journey as she navigates a hostile environment fueled by fear, misinformation, and threats. Jones, a middle-school librarian from Watson, Louisiana, first found herself in the crosshairs of right-wing activists after testifying at a Livingston Parish Library Board meeting in July 2022. During the meeting, she delivered a thoughtful and reasoned plea for maintaining public libraries as spaces that reflect the diversity of their communities.

 

In her testimony, she stated, “All members of our community deserve to be seen, have access to information, and see themselves in our PUBLIC library collection. Censoring and relocating books and displays is harmful to our community, but will be extremely harmful to our most vulnerable — our children.” Jones’ call for inclusivity and balanced curation resonated with many, but it also sparked a fierce backlash from a vocal minority determined to impose their beliefs on public spaces.

 

Not long after her testimony, Jones became the target of an online smear campaign led by Citizens for a New Louisiana, a group with a name that ironically evokes George Orwell’s dystopian vision. They accused Jones of pushing pornography and promoting the teaching of explicit content to children, baseless claims designed to discredit her and frighten others into silence. The attacks escalated quickly, culminating in death threats against Jones, all because she stood against censorship.

 

The tactics employed against Jones are part of a broader pattern familiar to those observing the rise of censorship and political extremism in recent years. The strategy often involves four key approaches: taking quotes or book excerpts out of context, launching aggressive personal attacks via social media, exploiting the narrative of protecting children as a pretext for censorship, and spreading outright lies. The impact of these tactics on Jones’ personal and professional life was profound. As she recounts in her book, she lost friendships, faced relentless harassment, and eventually had to take a leave of absence from her job to protect her mental health.

 

Despite these challenges, Jones refused to back down. She filed a civil suit against her accusers for defamation, a move that underscored her resolve to defend the freedom to read. Jones’ resilience is bolstered by her sharp wit, which she uses to counter the often absurd claims made against her. Addressing accusations that librarians like her are indoctrinating children with liberal ideologies, she quips, “If I had the ability to indoctrinate children, I would indoctrinate them to be kind to one another, return their library books on time, and stop putting their chicken nuggets from the cafeteria in the book-return box.” Her humor provides a welcome respite in what is otherwise a harrowing account of personal and professional adversity.

 

Jones is at her most compelling when she steps back from her personal experiences to explore the broader implications of censorship in libraries. She passionately argues that libraries, particularly public ones, must strive to offer diverse collections that reflect all facets of the communities they serve. She notes that many recent challenges to library collections have specifically targeted books by authors of color or those featuring LGBTQ+ characters, revealing a disturbing agenda that goes beyond individual objections to specific titles. “This is a huge movement … well funded and well coordinated,” Jones writes. “It is about marginalizing and erasing cultures and groups of people, it is about defunding public institutions, it is about dumbing down society for a more easily led population, and it is about using libraries for political gain. At the end of the day, the pro-censorship movement is about privatizing education and privatizing libraries for a group of people who are seeking to line their pockets.”

 

Jones is also adept at highlighting the contradictions of the pro-censorship activists who claim to protect children yet often ignore other genuine dangers to young people’s safety. She points out the paradox of those who push for banning books to shield kids from supposed harm while doing nothing to address the far more tangible threat of school shootings. She humorously mentions her “gal pal Val,” a local politician who fervently supports keeping libraries “safe” for children yet hosts campaign fundraisers where an AK-15 is given away as a door prize. This irony exposes the selective outrage and the broader political motivations behind the censorship movement.

 

While Jones’ narrative is undoubtedly compelling, her writing style at times veers toward the conversational, occasionally becoming repetitive or less polished. Yet this informality also makes her story accessible, grounding the broader fight against censorship in the lived reality of someone who never set out to be a public figure but became one out of necessity.

 

Jones concludes her book with a practical toolkit for those who want to support libraries in their communities, offering advice on how to push back against censorship without resorting to protest signs or public confrontations. She encourages readers to “Start small and point out lies and hypocrisy with your family and friends. … You don’t have to show up with signs of protest. Standing in solidarity by reaching out … and showing up just to be a presence, can be supportive.” This call to action is a fitting end to Jones’ story, emphasizing that the fight for intellectual freedom isn’t just the responsibility of librarians—it’s a collective effort that requires everyday citizens to stand up and be counted.

 

Amanda Jones’ “That Librarian” is more than just a memoir; it’s a rallying cry for those who believe in the power of libraries to reflect the full spectrum of human experience. The book serves as a reminder of what’s at stake when access to information is threatened and the importance of standing up to intimidation, even when the cost is high. In the end, Jones’ story is not just about the defense of libraries—it’s about the defense of the fundamental right to think, read, and explore without fear of reprisal.

 

Credit: W.P. 2024-08-29

 

 

 

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[Purdey]

Libraries are a place of freedom and access to knowledge. Censorship had been proven not to work. If people can't read Lady Chatterley's Lover in a library, they will pass around on grubby illegal copies. 

Books just don't kill people.

Not so sure about guns.

[JonnyF]

5 hours ago, Social Media said:

She passionately argues that libraries, particularly public ones, must strive to offer diverse collections that reflect all facets of the communities they serve. She notes that many recent challenges to library collections have specifically targeted books by authors of color or those featuring LGBTQ+ characters

 

5 hours ago, Social Media said:

Addressing accusations that librarians like her are indoctrinating children with liberal ideologies, she quips, “If I had the ability to indoctrinate children, I would indoctrinate them to be kind to one another,

 

 

Reading between the lines, it sounds to me like she is trying to push trans ideology and divisive concepts like Critical Race Theory onto children under the guise of being a #bekind Liberal.

[Chomper Higgot]

6 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

 

 

 

Reading between the lines, it sounds to me like she is trying to push trans ideology and divisive concepts like Critical Race Theory onto children under the guise of being a #bekind Liberal.

By reading between the lines, you mean the views she hasn’t herself expressed but that you assume?

[herfiehandbag]

30 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

 

 

 

Reading between the lines, it sounds to me like she is trying to push trans ideology and divisive concepts like Critical Race Theory onto children under the guise of being a #bekind Liberal.

If I may use a Thai/English phrase:

You think too much!

[JonnyF]

7 minutes ago, herfiehandbag said:

If I may use a Thai/English phrase:

 

You may.

 

7 minutes ago, herfiehandbag said:

You think too much!

 

If I may use another phrase.

 

You have your head in the sand. 

[JonnyF]

37 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

By reading between the lines, you mean the views she hasn’t herself expressed but that you assume?

 

I suggest you re-read the article.

 

She clearly adheres to liberal ideology. There is no doubting her views.

 

Reading between the lines, I suspect she is pushing these radical views onto impressionable children, as Liberals tend to do. 

[rudi49jr]

2 hours ago, JonnyF said:

 

 

 

Reading between the lines, it sounds to me like she is trying to push trans ideology and divisive concepts like Critical Race Theory onto children under the guise of being a #bekind Liberal.

 

Wow, pushing trans ideology and critical race theory to indoctrinate all those poor innocent kids. Straight out of the MAGA / loony right playbook, scare mongering 101.

Sounds to me like you’re the one who’s been indoctrinated, and has been reading a few too many fairytales. And I don’t even have to read between the lines to come to that conclusion

[Hanaguma]

There is a large gulf between books being banned and books not being available in a public library. 

 

The books are not banned. They are freely published without punishment. They are freely available for purchase in many ways.  But libraries have limited shelf space and a mandate to serve the pubic. It is not censorship to question whether providing books that show underage sex acts is questionable.

[JonnyF]

8 minutes ago, rudi49jr said:

Wow, pushing trans ideology and critical race theory to indoctrinate all those poor innocent kids.

 

Indeed.

 

And then writing a "woe is me" book to try and cash in on it when people object to her pushing her Woke pervy nonsense onto other people's kids.  

 

She's quite a character. 

[Chomper Higgot]

1 hour ago, JonnyF said:

 

Indeed.

 

And then writing a "woe is me" book to try and cash in on it when people object to her pushing her Woke pervy nonsense onto other people's kids.  

 

She's quite a character. 

Can you please provide quotes from the article that substantiates your claim that Amanda Jones is, to use your own words’ “pushing her Woke pervy nonsense onto other people's kids”?

 

Or did you simply make that up?

[Chomper Higgot]

1 hour ago, Hanaguma said:

It is not censorship to question whether providing books that show underage sex acts is questionable.

Can you provide a quote from the article where such material is even mentioned?

 

Or did you simply make that but up, and if so what on earth brought such material to your mind?

[Hanaguma]

2 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Can you provide a quote from the article where such material is even mentioned?

 

Or did you simply make that but up, and if so what on earth brought such material to your mind?

Well, she works as a librarian in a middle school.  Also really into left wing issues, hates Trump, loves the whole "Drag Queen Story Hour" crap.  In her capacity as a public school employee, it is only natural that she is careful to choose age appropriate material. Nothing to do with freedom. 

[Chomper Higgot]

4 minutes ago, Hanaguma said:

Well, she works as a librarian in a middle school.  Also really into left wing issues, hates Trump, loves the whole "Drag Queen Story Hour" crap.  In her capacity as a public school employee, it is only natural that she is careful to choose age appropriate material. Nothing to do with freedom. 

Gawd.

 

So that’s a no then.

[Yagoda]

And of course, so that both sides can be heard, as opposed to the screeching and shouting of the left, here is the contrary view, by a bookstore owner.

 

https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2024/09/the-orwellian-evolution-of-banned-books-week