1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

I am writing to demand that you reject Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s outrageous crusade to purge books from Texas public schools and any legislation that would punish school districts for refusing to bow to political censorship. Lt. Gov. Patrick proudly declared, “We’re coming for the books.” That should alarm every Texan who believes in freedom. This is not about protecting children. It is about controlling what they are allowed to read, learn, question, and understand. Patrick claims these books are “vulgar,” yet his list of more than 2,000 targeted books includes Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul, classics like The Bluest Eye and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, books about the dangers of banning books, a dictionary, and even a children’s book about crayons, Red: A Crayon’s Story. Calling this a campaign against “vulgarity” is ridiculous. This is censorship, plain and simple. Now Texas politicians want to go even further by using school accountability ratings as a weapon to force school districts to remove books. Let that sink in: instead of focusing on whether students can read, write, think critically, or succeed academically, state leaders want to punish schools over books that offend their political agenda. That is not leadership. It is intimidation. Parents have every right to decide what their own children read. But no parent, political organization, or politician has the right to dictate what every other child in Texas is allowed to read. Texas schools already have processes for reviewing challenged books. Those decisions should be made carefully and transparently by local communities—not through threats and political coercion from Austin. And once politicians can punish schools for keeping books they dislike, where does it stop? Will Texas students next lose access to Night by Elie Wiesel? The Diary of Anne Frank: The Graphic Adaptation by Ari Folman? The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros? The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams? Or even beloved books for younger readers like In the Night Kitchen, Hatchet, Class Act, Four Eyes, Big Nate and Friends, and Charlie & Mouse? Where does the censorship end? History? Race? Religion? LGBTQ+ people? Health? Politics? Books that criticize the government? Books about the Holocaust? Books about racism? Books that make someone uncomfortable? A government that fears books should never be trusted with the power to ban them. Reject this reckless attack on Texas schools. Do not turn school accountability into a censorship tool. Do not allow librarians and educators to be bullied into removing books. Do not let political extremism determine what Texas students are allowed to learn. Texas should be raising readers, not raising a generation taught that difficult ideas should be hidden, erased, or feared. Stop this attack on the freedom to read. Stand up to political intimidation. And make it clear that Texas will not punish schools for refusing to participate in a government-driven book purge. Texas students deserve better. They deserve to read. Fight for our children.