On Thursday April 3, the University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries held a web seminar titled “Book Bans and Your Right to Read.”
The webinar featured a lecture from UMass librarian Laura Quilter about the First Amendment followed by a discussion. The seminar began with an introduction into what the First Amendment is and what it encapsulates.
Quilter became a librarian in the 1990s after growing up with relatives who were very conservative. She faced censorship from her family members and knew when she was a teenager that she wanted to advocate for the protection of books and individual’s rights. In addition to being a librarian, Quilter is an attorney.
“My passion and mission in life is to help people know their own rights and how to express them,” Quilter said.
The First Amendment in the Constitution states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Quilter explained how the amendment is broken into separate clauses and what those clauses mean. She stated that the First Amendment constrains what the United States government can do. She also emphasized the importance in understanding that it doesn’t only protect verbal speech, it protects any speech.
“It’s not just speech. [It’s] the right to receive information, the right to hear things … it includes all kinds of communication broadly,” she continued. This idea comes into fruition when speaking about issues like book banning.
According to PEN America a book ban is “any action taken against a book based on its content and as a result of parent or community challenges, administrative decisions, or in response to direct or threatened action by lawmakers or other governmental officials, that leads to a previously accessible book being either completely removed from availability to students, or where access to a book is restricted or diminished.”
Additionally, PEN America states, “Book bans impede the freedom to read, limiting students’ access to a diversity of views and stories.”
Since state’s have their own constitutions, they have autonomy over what can be done with certain books. Quilter also added that not only is there the U.S. Constitution, but every state has their own constitution as well.
“People don’t often realize or think that all of our states have a constitution,” she stated. “[I want] people to understand there are separate constitutional grounds that apply differently.”
For example, in states like Florida, the Board of Education passed “[a] trio of laws … [that] bar instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through third grade (HB 1557), prohibit educators from discussing advantages or disadvantages based on race (HB 7), and mandate that schools must catalog every book on their shelves, including those found in classroom libraries (HB 1467).”
Towards the end of the lecture, Quilter expressed how students at UMass Amherst can protect their First Amendment rights. The most important point she stated was to assert your rights either verbally or in writing. She also mentioned that the First Amendment applies to everyone regardless of citizenship status.
Sydney Warren can be reached at [email protected].
