Read Freely Alabama

Amy Minton challenged 30 children's and teen books at the Gadsden Public Library in December 2023. She objected to the LGBTQ+ themes and content. Minton argued that taxpayer money should not fund books like LGBTQ+ Athletes Claim The Field: Striving for Equality because it "sexualized" children. 

An active Moms For Liberty supporter, Etowah County Republican secretary and Etowah County Library Committee member, Minton was appointed to the Alabama Public Library Services state library board in February 2024.  

Here are all 30 challenge forms

In September-October 2023, the Dothan-Houston County Library System received twenty-one challenge forms. Like other book challengers, individuals objected to LGBTQ content, claiming children's picture books like Rainbow: A First Book of Pride could sexualize children.

An important shift occurred in Dothan. Challengers started to target books in ADULT sections. Previously, Clean Up Alabama, Moms For Liberty, and other anti-library extremists had targeted only chidren's and teen books, claiming they had no problem with books in Adult sections. We warned that given enough time, extremists would move their goalposts and start attacking Adult books - which is exactly what happened in Dothan.   

Individuals vehemently opposed two books shelved in the Adult section. Challengers said that Gender Queer, an autobiographical graphic novel, "offended [them] as a Christian" and "no place in a civil society." Another challenger claimed that The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison's classic, was "filthy," "vulgar"  and was a "shameful book to have anywhere." 

A sample of the Dothan challenge forms are below - you can view all twenty-one forms here

Clean Up Alabama and Moms For Liberty push the narrative that they are fighting to relocate "sexually explicit" and other "inappropriate" content from the children's section, and place it within the adult section. 

This is a lie. The challenge forms show that none of the children's material - these generally intended for readers 12 yrs and younger - had sexually explicit material. A lot of the challengers also made it clear they wanted to completely remove material, especially those that discussed LGBTQ+ themes or had LGBTQ+, Black, or People of Color characters.

Furthermore, these forms reveal that anti-library extremists are starting to target "inappropriate" books in the Adult sections, demanding that books like The Bluest Eye be removed from our publicly funded libraries. 

Visit these pages to learn more and read the forms yourself. If you have any questions or for media requests, please contact [email protected] 


Top 25 Banned & Challenged Books in Alabama

Challenged Books at Autauga-Prattville Public Library

Challenged Books at Dothan-Houston Public Library

Challenged Books at Gadsden Public Library