Continuing on with the sentiment I expressed in a prior post (Into the (Grand) Canyon), I have been anxious to use this blog space to include information, resources, and topics of interest I come across in my quest find ways to get involved in the protection of the environment, animals, and of human rights of every kind.

Needless to say, I am very excited to expand upon that idea by welcoming Ariel Hakim, founder of Banned Books Box, to take part in what is the very first interview for this blog.

As so many of us are, I’ve been reading the news and following the recent, worrisome rise in book ban attempts in school systems across the USA that target those with topics that dealing with race, gender identity, and LGBTQ+ issues or topics such as the Holocaust and slavery (a good article on this topic is Banning Books Is Good For Politicians But Bad for Students, an interview with Cicely Lewis, a librarian in Georgia as well as columnist for School Library Journal). It is frustrating and upsetting to read as, state by state, and school district by school district, these bans are popping up. The natural, pressing question I had (like so many others have) is, what can be done to stop it?

In a quest for answers, I discovered someone nearby, right here in NE Ohio, who is not just knowledgeable about this topic but has also been motivated to use their expertise to do something about it. I was excited to find her, and even more excited that she graciously agreed to take time out to answer some of my questions.

Banned Books Box is exactly what it sounds like, a book subscription service that not only carefully curates a collection of banned books and gets them into the hands of readers, but also provides information, background, and dialog about the books, as well as offers suggested ways for us to help counter these attempted bans. From the website: Each book box contains two banned books, a lapel pin allied with one of the books in your shipment, a bookmark or two with the lowdown on how and why the books in your box were censored and at least one additional bookish item we hope you’ll either adore for its whimsicality or find particularly useful.

Hi Ariel! Thank you so much for being here! I was really happy to come across Banned Books Box and to read about what you started. I am interested in learning more of what you’re doing and what prompted you to create it in the first place. To start, can you tell a little about yourself, your background, and a little more about Banned Books Box?   

Ariel Hakim, founder of Banned Books Box located in NE Ohio

I'm a mom of 3 elementary school children living in Wadsworth, Ohio, married to my husband Nick for a decade. My degrees are a BA in English and an MFA in Creative Writing. My adult working life has been all over the place. I've done everything from cleaning bathrooms at a homeless shelter to most recently, working as a reference associate at my local library. While working at the library, I began to learn about drag story times being canceled due to what someone deemed their offensive nature, as well as other attacks on stories and people. I couldn't get my head around it. I read about some parents being deeply upset last May when university students in Whiteville, North Carolina, read One of a Kind Like Me by Laurin Mayeno to elementary school kids during a virtual story time. Following that, school administrators appeared to ban the book, apologizing for not having vetted it before it was read. In fact, the act of requiring review of the material before reading to students would have gone against the school district's policies. That book is a sweet tale based on a true story about a boy finding just the right costume for his school parade, offering a lesson of individual identity affirmation, including gender differences. It made me really sad to think about children being denied this story and others like it. Banned Books Box came out of these thoughts and feelings. Initially, I planned to launch two subscription boxes -- one for adults and one for children, but since I'd never done anything like this before, I wanted to get one amazing box going first, which is the adult box. The plan is to launch a children's box in April or May of 2022.

Image courtesy of Ariel Hakim

What is your take on the bans that we are reading about in the papers lately—do you perceive an increased effort to ban certain books in the past year, or is it more of the same of what books have always faced? Does it seem like there is a more organized effort to ban lately, or do you think recent bans are spawning copycat bans? If there is a true rise in efforts to ban as of late, what seems to be most at risk at the moment (children’s books, YA, adult)? And where (school libraries, public library systems, prisons, or other)? 

There has definitely been an increased effort to ban books over the past several months, and stories of Black, Latinx, LGBTQ+ and other marginalized people are the targets. Groups such as Moms for Liberty and No Left Turn in Education have either formed or taken on book challenging in schools as top priority.  There does seem to be a formula groups are using to attack books at school board meetings, which includes reading isolated passages usually out of context they think will offend others to make the case that children shouldn't have access to the book. Interestingly, the people complaining are many times adamant about books being pulled from shelves immediately, which more often than not bypasses school districts' established policies for challenging materials. So, book banning in schools is truly on the rise right now. Book bans continue to occur in prisons in an alarming way, with groups such as Books to Prisoners remaining steady advocates for individuals who are incarcerated. Bans also do occur in public libraries, but my impression is that happens less often. It's also worth noting that canceled events like drag story times can also be considered bans. Something like this also happened last July, when an event featuring the authors of Forget the Alamo at Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin was canceled the day before it was set to occur due to pressure from conservative politicians against exposure of the role of racism and slavery in Texas history. 

What worthwhile actions can we as individuals take to help? I see you have an extensive list of action items on your site, which is so helpful (see 27 Things You Can Do About Censorship on the Banned Books Box website). If someone is only able to tackle one, or just a handful of those items, where do you suggest they begin and what do you feel would make the biggest impact?

I'm going to use recommendations from George M. Johnson, author of the often-attacked memoir All Boys Aren't Blue.
1. Buy banned books. 2. Correct misconceptions about the books. 3. Vote in local elections.

Banned Books Box’s January box, which includes George M. Johnson’s poignant, powerful and critical memoir-manifesto, All Boys Aren’t Blue, and Uzodinma Iweala’s equally important and impactful novel, Speak No Evil, both banned.

Do you think there is a way to reach people who are unconcerned or undecided how they feel about bans?

That's a good question. A couple of ideas would be to lend or purchase banned books for friends to read or to grab a friend to attend a school board meeting with you. I'm interested in hearing what suggestions and ideas others come up with. 

Where do kids (who are minors) fall in all of this? Do they have a voice in the matter, or are they reliant on their parents to take steps to counter book bans?

 There have definitely been some successful student efforts in fighting book bans. Student activists in York County, Pennsylvania set an incredible precedent when last fall they fought a massive book ban and won. Closer to home, with the help of State Board of Education member Meryl Johnson, students in Cleveland have formed S.P.E.A.K. (Students Promoting Equity and Knowledge), a student-led group for educating people to take a stance against discrimination, racism, and censorship. Students voices are extremely important.

As a NE Ohio resident with two kids now in college, I am wondering how parents like me who no longer have kids in school, or anyone without a child/children in the district, can actively stay abreast of any local movement toward banning books within their own school libraries. Who would one approach to ask if there are any such efforts to ban books or to obtain a list of books facing a ban? Does one have to have a child in the school district in which they live for their voice to count there?

Since Ohio K-12 schools are majorly funded by property tax dollars, voices of all humans living within a school district matter quite a bit, whether or not you have school-aged children. I'd suggest getting in touch with the superintendent to find out if there's been any movement toward banning books in your school district. Also, I'd suggest signing up for Honesty for Ohio Education's newsletter and checking out their resources for combating book bans.

To learn more about the important service Banned Books Box is providing and to start your own subscription, visit www.bannedbooksbox.com . Select past boxes are also available for individual purchase. You can also follow and share via @bannedbooksbox on IG and @thebannedbooksbox on Facebook to spread the word and help others learn about Banned Books Box, too.

Visit 27 Things You Can Do About Censorship on the Banned Books Box for a list of action items to take to combat the rise in book bans.