Here you will find all the information you need to help fight for Alabama libraries 

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

In 2023, eighteen (18) individuals submitted 48 reconsideration forms to the Autauga-Prattville Public Library. The main objections were over content like LGBTQ+ rights, gender identity, body autonomy and consent, and social and racial justice.

Some teen books, like Forever by Judy Blume, were challenged for containing implied or explicit sexual content. These books cleared the Miller Test and were not considered obscene or pornographic.

We have highlighted some of the challenge forms below, but you can view all 48 forms here.

The Pronoun Book

Yes! No! A First Conversation about Consent

Being You: A First conversation about gender

Bye Bye, Binary

Calvin

Door By Door: How Sarah McBride became America's first openly transgender senator

My Rainbow

Red: A Crayon's Story

What Was Stonewall?

The Meaning of Pride

The Civil War of Amos Abernathy

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

Read Freely Alabama is a volunteer group of concerned citizens who oppose censorship in our local libraries. As the scale of censorship efforts and attacks on libraries have expanded across the state, we have grown to meet the challenge. Read Freely Alabama is the state-wide resource hub for local chapters and affiliated groups fighting censorship. By connecting library advocates to one another and to state and national partners, Read Freely Alabama enables liberty-loving patriots across the state to stand together against this un-American campaign of bigotry.

If you want to learn more about Read Freely Alabama, don't hesitate to get in touch with us at [email protected]. 

Would you like to join us in working to oppose anti-library extremism in Alabama? Become a member today! 

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