Happy Freedom day. I recognize that saying these words feels ironic given the times we live in. But today is a reminder that our ancestors sacrificed everything for our liberation. May we use this day to nourish our souls as we continue to fight for our freedom. 

#blackjoy #blacksky #AddtoBlackSky
—Joëlle Retener, responding to our Juneteenth booklist

School board elections matter. Don't sit them out if you stand against Nazi-esque book banning.
—Joni Hough, in a comment on Facebook about the Escambia County (FL) school board, which enabled the superintendent to remove all the books on the Florida DOE book removal list without review.

Calling out soft censorship

We received more than a few comments in response to our recent roundup of censorship news and reporting by the Salt Lake Tribune about Utah teachers proactively removing books from the classroom out of concern for the state’s ‘sensitive materials’ legislation.

This is happening in many states, Tennessee included (where I am). It’s easier and safer for the teachers to just get rid of classroom libraries. A horrible outcome, but I don’t see how anyone can blame them. These are the consequences of the lawmakers actions.
—Shirey Szalay

This is what soft censorship looks like, and it's one of the most insidious results of book banning because it goes unseen.
—Katie L. Carroll‬

31 year high school English teacher, here. I’d quit before they made me do that.
—Mollie Anne

Self-censorship: one of the results of living under a fascist regime.
—Peggy Tahir

Shoutout for Amar Shah

Little Known Fact:
When Amar was a kid he was on the cover of Sports Illustrated for Kids with Shaquille O'Neal.
And I was working there at the time as the editorial director of sikids.com
Who knew that one day I would write a cover blurb for that kid's graphic novel?!

❤️❤️❤️

—Jerry Craft, On SLJ starred review of I Wish I was a Baller