'We are not quiet; we're pissed': ACLU hosts meeting in Brevard County discussing book bans

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. - The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is hosting a series of meetings all over Central Florida, talking about laws it feels constitute educational censorship. Thursday evening, the group stopped in Brevard County. 

Katie Blankenship, the Deputy Legal Director of the ACLU of Florida, headed the meeting.

"We start moving and showing this state and this country that we are taking this complacently," she told the crowd. "We are not quiet. We’re pissed."

The ACLU brought in lawyers to answer questions about what the lawsuits it’s working on, and what the public can do to make their opinions on book bans heard. A lot of the people in attendance were teachers. Some are still working as educators; others had retired or left the profession. Andrew Kemp was a teacher for 26 years.

"Everything I have built my life on is being stripped away by the state of Florida," said Kemp. "We’re destroying generations now. We’re going to create an entire generation of people that can’t think."

There were also several high school students at the meeting, learning how they can get involved.

"As an aspiring lawyer, I was curious upon how this was going to play out in a lawyer’s aspect. I just found it really interesting, personally," said student Samantha Kervin.

"Right now, it’s kind of baffling reading all the laws, because I, for one, am part of the LGBTQ community, and it’s kind of like, why are we going backwards?" added student Paige Ste. Marie.

"Banning books, they just don’t need to," said Ava Wolfenkoehler, another student. "We all turn out fine, they’re not harmful."

There are other groups pushing back, too. Penguin Random House filed a lawsuit against Escambia County’s School District in May, and the authors of this book about two male penguins raising a baby just filed a lawsuit against the Lake County Public School District.

Recently, a Brevard County School Board member discussed lawsuits like that in a hearing that was not open to the public but was recorded. The audio file was made available to a Brevard County School District parent through a public records request.

"To my mind, if a publisher is publishing stuff, and they’re suing one of our school districts, we’ll just ban those books too," the board member said.

Meanwhile, Brevard County’s only lesbian-owned bookstore, Hello Again Books, now has an entire section that features books from the School District’s banned list. Merry Beth Burgess, the co-owner, explained the store uses the list specifically for Brevard County Public Schools.

"Parents or teachers who have concerns or questions can come to the store and actually look at the book, so they can see if it’s something they want their kids to read," said Burgess.

All in all, most people told us they left the meeting feeling better than when they arrived.

"I feel hopeful," said Amy Elkovich, the other co-owner of Hello Again Books. "I think there are discussions happening throughout the county and the state to make books available and stop the banning of books."

Some of the laws the ACLU is fighting against kick into effect on July 1. For instance, there is an expansion of the law critics has dubbed the "Don’t Say Gay Bill." The new version means anybody in a county can challenge a book, and it immediately gets pulled from shelves while it’s reviewed.