On the Corner of MLK Jr. Street and John Lewis Way

 Last Wednesday I spoke at a Criminal Justice subcommittee meeting of the Tennessee house legislature against the book banning bill, HB1944. Seventeen people had registered to speak and submitted their comments 24 hours in advance--11 in support of book banning, 6 against. 

A few random notes: there's clearly a hidden agenda at work here. All of the book banning supporters railed against pornography in the schools, repeatedly calling librarians pedophiles and sex groomers, quoting the Bible, and claiming that everything started to go wrong in public education the moment we actually enforced the Constitution and eliminated Christian prayer in public schools. However, when you look at the books actually challenged by Moms For Liberty in Tennessee schools, most are actually along the lines of "The Story of Ruby Bridges." The only book they actually challenged at elementary level on the grounds of sexual content was "Seahorse: The Shyest Fish in the Sea," a nonfiction picture book about seahorses. Moms For Liberty felt that, because male seahorses carry the fertilized eggs and actually give birth, this opened a gateway to acceptance of transgender people. 

You can't make this shit up.

Also, of the 37 people challenging books in Williamson County elementary schools (that's just south of Nashville, an affluent, predominantly white area), only 14 actually had children enrolled in the schools.

Since all the people testifying for or against the bill were only speaking to the lawmakers present--we couldn't address each other--and since only the lawmakers could ask questions, I wasn't able to say a whole lot of what I might have liked to. Happily, I'll get another chance: I've been invited, along with fellow writer and Vanderbilt faculty member Andrew Maraniss, and Tennessee Association of School Librarians representative Lindsey Kimery, to participate in a live call-in television news show about this bill. It's on Nashville's Channel 5, Thursday, March 10th, from 7-8 Central time. (That's 8-9 EST.)

Enough people were expected that they moved the meeting into the largest hearing room, and even with that perhaps a dozen people had to stand. The discussion of the one bill lasted three hours. One of the most vocal, nearly hysterical, voices in support of book banning was Victoria Jackson. I remember watching her on Saturday Night Live in the early 1990s, and I'd love to know how she journeyed from the cast of SNL to book banning in Tennessee. 

Almost no one wore masks in the crowded space. Covid's finally going away in a lot of the country, but in east Tennessee it's still rampant, so I had my mask on. I would have taken it off when I was speaking, but someone's perfume in the room set my asthma off, and I kept coughing. I used my inhaler, and I kept my mask on, but plenty of the Moms for Liberty gave me side-eye, as though I was deliberately giving them Covid. They didn't put on masks. They just glared. 

Nashville is a five-hour drive from my home in eastern Tennessee, so I'd driven over Tuesday night. I stayed in a hotel quite close to the Capitol that was inexpensive and had rooms, and the reason for that was that it was an absolute dive. Clean enough and safe enough, but phew. But in the morning at the free breakfast buffet all the patrons were wearing suits and nice clothing and were exceptionally well groomed. Guess I wasn't the only person with business at the Capitol.

In the morning I moved my car to the parking garage across from the office building where the hearing was. I went out to the street and waited on the corner for Lindsey Kimery and for author Ruta Sepetys, who were meeting me there so we could walk in together. (If you haven't read Ruta's new book, I Must Betray You, please do so immediately. It's wonderful, and also very relevant given the situation in Ukraine.) I looked around at the lovely spring day, and noticed that I was standing at the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Representative John Lewis Way. This pleased me immensely. The subcommittee vote didn't go the way I hoped--7-3 in support of putting the bill before the entire committee, which will happen next Wednesday morning--but I still feel it was a good sign.

I know I've mostly blogged about book banning, and I know it's not as intrinsically interesting a topic as the highjinks my animals are up to (the horses broke into the barn recently and ate $75 worth of horse treats. I'd stocked up because I have to mail-order these ridiculously expensive German horse muffins and I bought enough to get free shipping. And it's outlandish to feed your horse German horse muffins, but it makes my sweet mare practically purr. Though when she complained about not getting a muffin the day after she ate her share of several dozen, I wasn't nearly as sympathetic as she hoped.). However. Book banning is really important. In Tennessee right now, nearly half of our public schoolchildren get free lunch. We know that nationwide 61% of low-income children don't have any age-appropriate books at home. We know there are significant barriers to public libraries for many low-income children, particularly those living in rural areas. School libraries are our children's primary access to books. Increasing access to books is the most important factor in increasing children's academic achievement and consequent success. 

Also? Homophobia and white supremacy have no place in our schools or our society. Given the tenor of the earlier testimonies, I added a line to mine on the fly. It was this: "There are gay and transgender students in Tennessee public schools, and gay and transgender parents. Their existence is not pornographic."

There was a hiss from the room behind me. 

This is what it's about.

If you feel like watching a video of the subcommittee meeting, here's a link.

If you feel like attending the full Criminal Justice meeting where it will be decided whether this bill goes to the entire house, it's next Wednesday at 9am. If you'd like to speak, you need to email emily.hamby@capitol.tn.gov to ask to be put on the agenda, and you need to send her a precis of your remarks by 9am Tuesday.

If you'd like to comment at the call-in show on Thursday, please do.

If you'd like to email members of the Tennessee General Assembly, you can reach everyone through capitol.tn.gov.

Cheers!