PICKENS COUNTY — Over 60 residents of Oconee and Pickens Counties packed the September 19 meeting of the League of Women Voters of Oconee and Pickens Counties (LWVOP) for its monthly program, Freedom to Read: Combatting Censorship in our Public Schools and Libraries.

The program was presented by Community Advocates for Education (CAFE), a recently formed coalition of local citizens and the League. Its purpose is to defeat unconstitutional efforts to ban and censor curriculum/programs in public schools and libraries.

The presentation included three speakers: Josh Malkin, Senior Advocacy Strategist, ACLU of SC; Cassie Owens Moore, Intellectual Freedom Chair, SC Association of School Librarians; and Reba Kruse, Advocate with Community Advocates for Education (CAFE) and Chair, LWVOP Education Action Committee. Holley Ulbrich, Co-President of the League, moderated the discussion.

Panelists responded to questions on the importance of intellectual freedom, recent examples of banned books, age-appropriateness, and the role of the public. The comments were wide ranging and met with enthusiasm from the audience. Owens described the role of librarians as inspiring children to read by selecting books so that every child sees themselves represented on the shelves. Every child should feel seen, safe and represented.

Josh Malkin pointed out that parental choice is already the law; no one is arguing against parental rights/control of what their children read. The issue is that no parent has the right to tell other children what they can read and learn. Kruse championed the role of activism to support local librarians and school personnel. She noted that she served in the military abroad to defend our freedoms and can’t believe that she has returned to confront freedom issues at home.

The League of Women Voters (LWV), a nonpartisan political organization, encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government, and influences public policy through education and advocacy. LWV of Oconee and Pickens Counties is an organization fully committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in principle and in practice.

For more information visit www.lwvop.org.