“…..libraries should be open to all — except the censor. We must know all the facts and hear all the alternatives and listen to all the criticisms. Let us welcome controversial books and controversial authors. For the Bill of Rights is the guardian of our security as well as our liberty.”
— President John F. Kennedy
“Don't join the book burners. Don't think you're going to conceal faults by concealing evidence that they ever existed. Don't be afraid to go in your library and read every book...”― President Dwight D. Eisenhower
My mother, Elaine “Boots” Fisher, was a voracious reader. When she died, my family established a special collection in her name of Newbery and Caldecott Medal and Honor children’s books at the Shaker Heights Public Library. My mother taught me the value of reading, and my father, President of the Federal Bar Association, taught me the value of freedom of expression.
This week is Banned Books Week when we celebrate the right to read and the freedom to explore new ideas and different perspectives.
Libraries across the country are facing an overwhelming number of book ban attempts. In 2023 alone, the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 1,247 efforts to censor books and other resources in libraries—an increase of 65% from the year before. In total, 4,240 unique book titles were targeted.
That’s why our law school is sponsoring an important conference addressing the surge in book banning and the defense of First Amendment rights, Banned Books and Libraries Under Attack - The Fight for Intellectual Freedom, on October 10, 9am-3:30pm at in the CSU|LAW Moot Court Room.
Register Here.
We are partnering with Freedom to Learn Advocates (FTLA) to bring together top minds in law, education, and community organizing to tackle this important issue.
Event Details:
- Date: Thursday, October 10, 2024
- Time: 9:00 AM - 2:30 PM EST, with a Closing Reception from 2:30 - 3:30 PM EST
- Location: Cleveland State University College of Law Moot Court Room, 1801 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio
- Registration: Free, but registration is required. Please register today.
- CLE credit: 3.5
Why This Conference Matters:
One of the core values of our law school is civil discourse which includes freedom of speech and diversity of thought, and that core value is under grave threat. Parents have the right to guide their children’s reading, but no one should dictate what books other parents’ children are allowed to read.
What do To Kill A Mockingbird, The Catcher in the Rye, The Great Gatsby, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and Charlotte’s Web have in common? Groups have tried to ban these and many other books from classrooms and public and school libraries simply because they disagreed with the content.
In 1933, university students across Germany burned over 25,000 books. The works of Jewish authors like Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud went up in flames alongside blacklisted American authors such as Ernest Hemingway and Helen Keller, while students gave the Nazi salute.
In 1953, Ray Bradbury wrote a novel about a world in which firemen did not extinguish fires. They started them, to burn books and the houses of those who kept them. He called it “Fahrenheit 451,” for the temperature at which book paper catches fire and burns. Bradbury was sending us a warning about what could happen when a society decides that the ideas in books are too dangerous.
It’s a slippery slope to government censorship and freedom of expression. These efforts to deny Americansaccess to a diversity of stories and perspectives that help them understand and navigate the world around them, are a canary in the coal mine for the future of democracy.
Hear from Leading Experts including:
- Steve Potash ’78, President and CEO of OverDrive, Member, CSU|LAW Hall of Fame
- Deborah Caldwell-Stone, Director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom
- Ashley Hope Pérez, critically acclaimed author of Out of Darkness, The Knife and the Butterfly and What Can’t Wait, and World Literatures Professor at The Ohio State University
- Dan Novack, VP & Associate General Counsel at Penguin Random House and Founding Member of the Intellectual Freedom Task Force
- Katie Paris, Founder of Red Wine & Blue
- Katie Schwartzmann, Director of Tulane Law School's First Amendment Clinic
- Leila Green Little, intellectual freedom advocate and plaintiff in Leila Green Little, et al. v. Llano County, et al.
- Cheryl L. Davis, General Counsel for the Authors Guild and award-winning playwright and TV writer
- Rep. Dana Jones, Maryland state legislator, sponsor of the Freedom to Read Act
- Skip Dye, Vice President of Library Sales at Penguin Random House and Founding Chairman of Penguin Random House's Intellectual Freedom Task Force
- CSU|LAW Professor Doron Kalir
- Katrice Williams ’23, Legal Director, Freedom to Learn Advocates
At CSU|LAW, we are committed to fostering a respectful environment in which there can be vigorous debate about the issues that shape our future. We seek to be a place where we facilitate free expression and foster a culture where we welcome and celebrate diverse viewpoints. We do not ask our students to moderate or dilute their views to please others, but we do ask them to respect others’ differing views and their right to express them.
Let Freedom Read.
Have a great day and a great week.
The views and opinions expressed in my Monday Morning Message are solely my own and do not reflect the views and opinions of the law school or the university.
For copies of past messages, please go to this link: Monday Morning Messages
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My best,
Lee
Lee Fisher
Dean, Cleveland State University College of Law
Joseph C. Hostetler-BakerHostetler Chair in Law
Chair, American Association of Law Schools (AALS) Section on Leadership
1801 Euclid Avenue, LB 138 |Cleveland, Ohio 44115 -2214
216-386-8688 | lee.fishernull@csuohio.nulledu