“Don’t Say Other” (Education and Book Bans)
1836 Project, close up, laser cut ink & watercolor paintings on paper, 9 x 6 inches each ©2022
Over the past few years numerous laws have been passed in different states in America that restrict access to education, books, free speech and learning about diversity, equity and inclusion. According to the American Civil Liberties Union 111 new bills across 33 states have been introduced in 2022 to criminalize discussions and ban books about Critical Race Theory, LGBTQ+ content, gender identity, sexual orientation, and/or sexism in the workplace and schools. The Office of Intellectual Freedom at the American Library Association reports that there have been four times as many book banning challenges in recent years, more than they have ever seen. And now, this year, new laws have come into effect to teach the bible in public schools.
As protest to what is happening across the country and to record contemporary history, I painted the covers of banned books and laser cut the text from different state education laws and court cases into the paintings. The remnants of the burnt out negative space is piled at the bottom of each work, symbolic of the destruction these laws cause.
At the bottom of this webpage there are links to these laws. Feel free to read them and decide for yourself.
The court case Leroy Pernell V. Florida Board Of Governors Of The State University System & Adriana Novoa v. Manny Diaz Jr. challenged the Stop W.O.K.E. Act at the university level in Florida. One thing you will read in this case is that the Stop W.O.K.E. Act makes it illegal to teach affirmative action in Florida schools due to its “repugnant” nature. It can be noted as a law in past history, but no other viewpoint outside of its “repugnant nature” can be taught or debated. It is also noted that it is illegal to teach our supreme court justice Sonia Sotomayor’s biography, My Beloved World, because she expresses her gratitude for affirmative action. Affirmative action allowed her to be educated at Princeton and Yale, which would otherwise not have been possible due to her disadvantaged childhood. Like many other books My Beloved World is not on any “banned book list”, but it is illegal to teach due to the ideas held within it. I included My Beloved World in my art installation of this court case, which was, thankfully, won by the ACLU. While enforcement of the Stop W.O.K.E. Act is blocked at the university level, it remains in place in Florida schools through the end of high school.
The second group of books has The “Stop W.O.K.E., (Wrongs against Our Kids and Employees), Act” laser cut throughout the images. This Floridian law criminalizes diversity, equity, and inclusion training and education in schools and the workplace. It bans teaching critical race theory, LGBTQ+ content and discussions or learning about HIV/AIDS without parental consent. The 1836 Project has the text from The 1836 Project - H.B.No.2497 Act and The Texas Constitution laser cut throughout. The 1836 Project was created in opposition to The 1619 Project and dictates Texan schools teach a “patriotic education” that upholds the values in founding documents, such as the 1836 Texas Constitution, and Texas’s Christian heritage. This Constitution sanctions slavery and states that only white males are citizens. The text in Georgia HB 888, which was created in opposition to Critical Race Theory, states that schools must teach every person in America has equal opportunity no matter their race or gender.
The 1776 Report and The New American Republic Library has former President Trump’s advisory committee’s plan, The President's Advisory 1776 Commission Final Report, for American education laser cut throughout an image of a library. The books look very diverse, but upon closer inspection they are all different versions of the Bible. This image represents the argument in the report to have Christian based education in public schools while also claiming to respect diversity.
You can read these laws and court cases by clicking on the links below.
Download Primary Source Text