For as long as I can remember, books and reading have been a steady constant in my life, revolving around the carefully-crafted youthful worlds of Judy Blume and Barbara Park to the likes of Harper Lee, Sue Monk Kidd and Anne Rice. Solace in literature has remained one of those unchanging aspects of my being, and I can confidently say that I hold so much appreciation for my exposure to reading at an early age in life. From picture books to grade school stories, to the heavier, thought-provoking texts of high school and college, I’ve gratefully acknowledged the fact that I’ve had a whole world of literature surrounding me my entire life.
Growing up, “Freckleface Strawberry” by actress Julianne Moore was on heavy rotation in my nighttime reading lineup. The story follows a 7-year-old girl who learns to accept her freckles and that she’s just like everyone else — a simple tale of acceptance and self-love. I’ll admit that I had a resemblance to the titular character at that age (minus the red hair), though I ultimately just loved the silly illustrations and happy ending for the freckle-faced protagonist. At that age, the book was simply a call to embrace your differences and to be kind to others, as most children’s books tend to be.
As you may have recently seen in the news, “Freckleface Strawberry” was yet another one of many books targeted for “compliance review” in the U.S. under the Trump Administration this past month. In this review, the U.S. Department of Defense flagged Moore’s book with others as “potentially related to gender ideology or discriminatory equity ideology topics.”
So, tell me: How does the story of a little redheaded girl’s acceptance of her freckles promote any sort of so-called “agenda?” Short answer — it doesn’t.
Book bannings are rooted in fear, hatred and close-mindedness. The kind of statements we’ve seen made by our President are rooted in his own twisted version of perfection — perfection being a country without the voices of the past, of minorities or of the oppressed. What these bannings really are is a systematic erasure of knowledge. Access to literature cannot be held in the palm of one man alone, but as we’ve seen, he’ll do seemingly anything on his quest to dismantle higher thinking and education. The language of censorship prohibits critical thinking, and as we have seen throughout history, signals an attack on our constitutionally-assured freedoms.
It’s a heartbreaking, frustrating reality for those who truly understand the ramifications of these bans. We claim time and time again to be one of the most advanced civilizations in the world, steeped in the diverse voices of millions, literature being one of the most important mediums for this — but I cannot help but feel doubtful as I watch such an important aspect of my life attacked by bigotry and hatred.
It’s time to quite literally turn the page on literary censorship and charge forward with our own thinking — our own history depends on it.
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