Young EcoSocialists of the Green Party of the United States condemn efforts of Republican lawmakers to censor educators. 

Recently in the state of Louisiana, Republican lawmakers proposed a bill to criminalize librarians who join the American Library Association.  The bill also states that librarians would also be subjected to hard labor, and would also be in prison for “not more than two years or both.”  This directly and indirectly chills freedom of speech and association of librarians who use and have used the ALA as a resource during their career. It is also an attempt to weaponize the state to punish an organization that does not cater to the ideology of a political party.

The Green Party of the United States steadfastly opposes censorship in the arts, media, press and on the internet. Our platform values diversity, respect for women, the disabled, and communities who are routinely marginalized in the mainstream media. Direct and indirect attacks on these communities by targeting books that reference them and their values and librarians who maintain those books are unacceptable. The Green Party supports a society that values freedom of thought and expression. We cannot legislate away minority communities in an effort to erase their values, nor should a diverse and free society seek to do so.

We urge young Louisianans to start organizing and spreading awareness about this. As Republicans seek to use the power of the state against marginalized and minority communities, we need a large organization that will fight these forces head on.  So we can start making bigger changes for the betterment of us.

To join us, visit https://www.yesgp.org/join or contact [email protected]. As a dues paying membership caucus, we urge our members to pay dues (as little as $10 a year) to support our work.