TAMPA, Fla. — Banning together against books is the goal one local group had in Ybor City, Saturday night — and it was all part of a national initiative called Banned Books Week.
Bookends: Literature & Libations bookstore, a local mobile bookstore, held a book ban event at the Gasparilla Distillery and Cocktail Bar,
"One book pulled off the shelf is one too many," said Laurie Rodriguez, the event organizer."
But it's not just one, thousands of books have been taken off the shelves of Florida schools, according to a new report from PEN America, an organization that advocates for free expression.
Their data shows that Florida was the number one state for book bans, with 2,304 books removed. And in Hillsborough County, Pen America reports its leading the state with the most books banned at 608.
Just last month, the Hillsborough County School Board voted to ban two more books — called Blankets and Identical.
"It’s an embarrassment to me to be an educator to have our superintendent pulling books like that off our shelf, because the education, the institution of education, this is what we’re supposed to do, and we’re taking it from the students who need it," said Rodriguez.
Dozens of people came out to Book End’s event to advocate against the bans.
Saturday marked the end of the national Banned Books Week, which had a theme called “Censorship is so 1984 - read for your rights.”
Rachel Doyle is a Hillsborough County parent who said she agrees with this sentiment.
"I don't think there's ever been a circumstance in which book banning has ever benefited a child's education," said Doyle. "What is happening is that this is part of a broader attempt to whitewash my child's educational environment, and while it may not hurt my kids right now in the temporary, in the long run, yes, it will affect my kids' education negatively."
Doyle has two kids in elementary school and says she is advocating to put the power back in the hands of parents.
"We already have every tool needed as parents in order to direct our kids' educational environment individually, and the state does not need to give us any more opportunities to do that," said Doyle.
Hillsborough County Schools has made public statements about the inaccuracy of the book ban numbers from Pen America, so Tampa Bay 28 sent an email asking for a statement on the new report, but with it being the weekend, we have not heard back.
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