Oklahoma teacher helms campaign against banned books after being threatened by conservatives
Ahead of the midterms, one English teacher is using Oklahoma's book-banning efforts to campaign against conservative schooling policies in the state, The Associated Press reported.
Summer Boismier, a high-school English teacher from Norman, Oklahoma, told AP she had become concerned by the state's Senate Bill 1142, which The Oklahoman noted was aimed at banning books from school libraries that were deemed "controversial." As a result, she gave students access to a QR code from the Brooklyn Public Library that would allow them to read these banned books.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Walters called for Boismier's teaching license to be revoked, and the teacher found herself in the middle of a political firestorm that has engulfed the state. She told AP that people on social media "called for her to be prosecuted, thrown in prison, or even lynched."
However, following the attacks, Boismier became the center of a campaign against conservative-led book-banning efforts, with her community rallying around her in the midst of the social media blitz. Some people even printed her QR code on yard signs for passersby to use.
Boismier is now heading to New York City for a job with the Brooklyn Public Library, and told AP she's happy to have stood up for her students.
"My only regret is that I didn't do it sooner," she said.
-
5 cinematic cartoons about Bezos betting big on 'Melania'Cartoons Artists take on a girlboss, a fetching newspaper, and more
-
The fall of the generals: China’s military purgeIn the Spotlight Xi Jinping’s extraordinary removal of senior general proves that no-one is safe from anti-corruption drive that has investigated millions
-
Why the Gorton and Denton by-election is a ‘Frankenstein’s monster’Talking Point Reform and the Greens have the Labour seat in their sights, but the constituency’s complex demographics make messaging tricky
-
Trump sues IRS for $10B over tax record leaksSpeed Read The president is claiming ‘reputational and financial harm’ from leaks of his tax information between 2018 and 2020
-
Trump, Senate Democrats reach DHS funding dealSpeed Read The deal will fund most of the government through September and the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks
-
Fed holds rates steady, bucking Trump pressureSpeed Read The Federal Reserve voted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged
-
Judge slams ICE violations amid growing backlashSpeed Read ‘ICE is not a law unto itself,’ said a federal judge after the agency violated at least 96 court orders
-
Rep. Ilhan Omar attacked with unknown liquidSpeed Read This ‘small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work’
-
Democrats pledge Noem impeachment if not firedSpeed Read Trump is publicly defending the Homeland Security secretary
-
The billionaires’ wealth tax: a catastrophe for California?Talking Point Peter Thiel and Larry Page preparing to change state residency
-
Hegseth moves to demote Sen. Kelly over videospeed read Retired Navy fighter pilot Mark Kelly appeared in a video reminding military service members that they can ‘refuse illegal orders’
