President Biden rallies with teachers and slams right-wing book bans

Speaking to members of the National Education Association who had gathered at the teachers union’s annual meeting in Orlando, Florida, on Tuesday, President Joe Biden criticized school book bans instigated by conservatives.

Just days before Biden spoke to the NEA, leading Republican presidential candidates spoke at a conference held by Moms for Liberty, one of the major groups organizing in favor of such bans.

“Let’s stand with teachers and educators against politicians who are trying to score political points by banning books,” Biden said in an address delivered from the White House. “Did you all ever think you’d be in a situation, in the United States of America, we’re talking about banning books? And the people deciding what books to ban? Come on. That’s not who we are.”

Biden described himself and first lady Jill Biden, who also spoke to those gathered in Orlando, as champions for educators.

A few days before Biden’s speech, the leading Republican presidential candidates spoke at a conference organized by the conservative group Moms for Liberty, which has advocated for book bans in multiple states.

In his speech to the group, former President Donald Trump alleged that schools are “pushing critical race theory, transgender insanity, and other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content,” and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said that if elected president he would “fight the woke.”

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who are both running for the Republican presidential nomination, also appeared at the event.

Moms for Liberty has been designated an extremist group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which describes the group as “a far-right organization that engages in anti-student inclusion activities and self-identifies as part of the modern parental rights movement.”

The group first emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, voicing opposition to masking, and was promoted in right-wing media, including on “The Rush Limbaugh Show” and on Fox News.

Moms for Liberty has attacked schools for using curriculum materials that include LGBTQ, Black and Latino people. Chapters of the group have pushed for the removal from school libraries of books that they allege contain “critical race theory,” a term used in academic circles for an approach to the study of systemic racism in the United States that has been co-opted by conservatives to disparage and criticize diverse and inclusive educational programs.

Books opposed by Moms for Liberty chapters include titles such as “Martin Luther King Jr. and the March to Washington,” “Ruby Bridges Goes To School,” and “First Nations of North America: Plains Indians.” At the same time, the group has recommended that schools use the work of slavery sympathizer and right-wing conspiracy theorist W. Cleon Skousen.

In the last two years, an increasing number of books have been banned from schools at the behest of school boards led by conservatives.

A September 2022 report from PEN America found that from July 2021 to June 2022, 1,648 books were banned in 138 school districts in 32 states. The report found that 41% of the books contained LGBTQ+ themes and characters and that 40% of the banned material featured characters of color.

The Biden administration has continued to express concerns about book bans and, as part of a slate of actions announced in June for Pride month, it announced that a coordinator will be appointed at the Department of Education to address the issue.

“That coordinator will work to provide new training for schools nationwide on how book bans that target specific communities and create a hostile school environment may violate federal civil rights laws,” the White House said in a June 8 statement.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.