SAN FRANCISCO — In an increasingly divisive political sphere, Becka Robbins focuses on what she knows best: books.
Operating out of a small room at Fabulosa Books in San Francisco’s Castro district, one of the oldest gay neighborhoods in the United States, Robbins uses customer donations to send boxes of books across the country to groups that want them.
In an effort she calls “Books, Not Bans,” she uploads titles about queer history, sexuality, romance, and more — many of which are increasingly difficult to find in the face of a rapidly growing movement of conservative advocacy groups and legislators to ban them. of public schools and libraries.
“The book bans are terrible, the attempted erasure,” Robbins said. She wondered how she could get these books into the hands of the people who need them most.
Starting last May, she began raising money and looking for beneficiaries. Books of hers have gone to places like a pride center in West Texas and an LGBTQ-friendly high school in Alabama.
Customers are especially excited to help Robbins ship books to places in states like Florida, Texas and Oklahoma, often writing supporting notes to include in the packages. More than 40% of all book bans from July 2022 to June 2023 occurred in Florida, more than any other state. Behind Florida are Texas and Missouri, according to a report from PEN America, a nonprofit literary advocacy group.
Book bans and attempted bans have reached recordsaccording to American Library Association. And efforts now extend to both public libraries and school libraries. Since the totals are based on media reports and reports submitted by librarians, the association considers its numbers to be snapshots, with many bans left unrecorded.
The PEN America report said 30% of bans include characters of color or discuss race and racism, and 30% have LGBTQ+ characters or themes.
The most far-reaching challenges often originate from conservative organizations, such as Mothers for Freedomwho organized nationwide banning efforts and called for greater parental control over the books available to children.
Moms for Liberty is not anti-LGBTQ+, co-founder Tiffany Justice told the Associated Press. But about 38% of the group’s “directly sourced” book challenges have LGBTQ+ themes, according to the library association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. Justice said Moms for Liberty challenges books that are sexually explicit, not because they cover LGBTQ+ topics.
Among the most banned lists are “Gender Queer”, by Maia Kobabe, “All Boys Aren’t Blue”, by George Johnson, and “The Bluest Eye”, by Nobel laureate Toni Morrison.
Robbins said it’s more important than ever to make these types of books available to everyone.
“Fiction teaches us how to dream,” Robbins said. “It teaches us how to connect with people who are not like us, it teaches us how to listen and emphasize.”
She has shipped 740 books so far, with each box worth between $300 and $400, depending on the titles.
At the new Rose Dynasty Center in Lakeland, Florida, books donated by Fabulosa are already on the shelves, said Jason DeShazo, a drag queen known as Momma Ashley Rose, who runs the LGBTQ+ community center.
DeShazo is a family drag performer and has long organized drag stories to promote literacy. He uses puppets to address topics such as being kind, dealing with bullies, and giving back to the community.
DeShazo hopes to provide a safe space for events, support groups and health clinics, and build a library of banned books.
“I don’t think a black person should have to look so hard for an incredible book about the history of what our black community has been through,” DeShazo said. “Or for someone who is gay to find a book that represents them.”
Robbins’ favorite books to submit are queer young adult and adult novels, a rapidly growing genre as conversations about LGBTQ+ issues have become much more popular than they were a decade ago.
“The characters are like normal kids — normal people who are also homosexual, but who also fall in love and are happy,” Robbins said.
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Ding reported from Los Angeles.
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