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book bans

The ACLU is fighting Rutherford County’s book bans. Here’s why.

By Camellia Burris

June 12, 2025

Books touching on sexuality and race are being pulled off the shelves in Tennessee, and Rutherford County is at the heart of the controversy.

Filed Under: Education, WPLN News Tagged With: ACLU, book bans, lgbtq, Rutherford County, Rutherford County Schools

ACLU asks court to block Rutherford County’s school board from banning more books

By Camellia Burris

April 16, 2025

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of three anonymous families and an organization supporting the free expression of writers, called PEN America. Thirty-two members of PEN America have had a total of 53 books banned or restricted by the Rutherford County school board.

Filed Under: Education, WPLN News Tagged With: anti-lgbt, book bans, books, First Amendment, lgbt, lgbtq, Rutherford County, Rutherford County Schools

NashVillager Podcast: Book bans and freedom of speech

By Nina Cardona

December 2, 2024

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Do school districts run afoul of the First Amendment when they pull books by the hundreds out of libraries? Plus the local news for December 2, 2024.

Filed Under: Education, History, NashVillager Podcast, WPLN News Tagged With: book bans, public schools

Activists and librarians are fighting a wave of challenges to books, many with LGBTQ themes

By Alexis Marshall

May 31, 2024

Tennesseans sought to remove hundreds of books from library shelves in 2023, many of them containing LGTBQ+ characters or themes.

Filed Under: Education, WPLN News Tagged With: book bans, lgbtq, libraries, public schools

‘The reason we can’t breathe’: Nashville Youth Poet Laureate takes on book bans and arming teachers

By Cynthia Abrams

May 15, 2024

Nashville Youth Poet Laureate Jadyn Marshall doesn’t shy away from her frustrations with Tennessee policymakers. Her writing confronts topics like books bans, arming teachers and silencing young people.

Filed Under: Metro, WPLN News Tagged With: arming teachers, book bans, gun violence, Nashville Youth Poet Laureate, State of Metro, Tennessee kids, youth poet laureate

Book bans are expanding from schools into public libraries in Sumner County. The group behind the shift is contributing to a culture of fear.

By Alexis Marshall

February 7, 2024

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Library board members appointed by Sumner County Constitutional Republicans have deeply influenced local libraries, including passing a policy that critics say would censor collections across the county.

Filed Under: Education, Politics, WPLN News Tagged With: book bans, libraries, Sumner County, Sumner County Constitutional Republicans

Book ban advocates could soon take over Sumner County’s school board. Behind the movement is a far-right political faction with a decade-long grudge.

By Alexis Marshall

February 6, 2024

Julia Garnett, 18, smiles standing among the book shelves at Hendersonville Public Library. Her shirt, decorated with the spines of books that have been challenged across the country, reads "I'm with the banned."
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The Sumner County Constitutional Republicans already hold a majority of seats on the County Commission. They hope to flip the school board in the upcoming March 5 elections, with endorsed candidates running in four of the six contests.

Filed Under: Education, Politics, WPLN News Tagged With: book bans, Sumner County, Sumner County Constitutional Republicans, Sumner County Schools

Tennessee’s legislature made waves in 2023. Here’s a review of the year’s top stories in state politics.

By Blaise Gainey

December 28, 2023

Tennessee politics got national attention in 2023. There were protests, expulsions, culture wars and one official’s interesting social media activity brought to light. Below is a list of some of the top events from the year.

Filed Under: Politics, WPLN News Tagged With: 113th Tennessee General Assembly, 2023 Year In Review, Abortion, book bans, Cameron Sexton, Covenant School, drag, drag show, gun control, gun reform, justin j. pearson, Justin Jones, Randy McNally, Scotty Campbell, special session, Tennessee Three, transgender

Sumner County school board votes to keep a challenged book in schools

By Alexis Marshall

December 6, 2023

The Sumner County Schools board voted not to ban a book during Tuesday night’s meeting. The challenged book — the graphic memoir “Hey, Kiddo” — depicts the author’s childhood living with his grandparents, a missing father and a mother suffering from addiction. 

Filed Under: Education, WPLN News Tagged With: book bans, Sumner County

Rutherford County’s library system bans four books with LGBTQ+ themes after a Murfreesboro ‘decency’ ordinance

By Alexis Marshall

August 29, 2023

Rutherford County’s Library System board voted to remove a total of four books from its shelves during a meeting Monday evening. All of them were young adult books that included LGBTQ+ characters or themes.

Filed Under: Education, WPLN News Tagged With: book bans, censorship, lgbt, lgbtq, libraries, Murfreesboro, Rutherford County

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