Dearest Gentle Reader,
As I eat at the same Thai restaurant for the fourth time during #alaac24 (no regrets!), string covers of Top 40 hits playing in the background, I feel like I’m in Shonda Rhimes’ Mayfair. This is because I just spent the afternoon at the Stonewall Book Awards amongst “The Ton” of LGBTQIA+ literary creators.
Every one of the 20-plus 2024 Stonewall Book Awards honorees and winners was invited to offer remarks. And while this may sound tedious in the abstract, I’ve never laughed and cried so much with a group of strangers as I did this afternoon. Across speeches—even those by creators of adult literature—the common theme was that libraries always have been and must remain safe spaces for LGBTQIA+ children and youth, especially those at the intersection of other marginalized identities.
This is critical in a climate where—as noted by Not He or She, I’m Me author A.M. Wild—the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is tracking a record 527 anti-LGBTQIA+ bills across the United States. A climate in which picture books like Not He or She, I’m Me are “a form of protest.”
What do you do to maintain safe spaces for the LGBTQIA+ children you serve? Drop a line in the comments below or at ktaksier@ufl.edu.
Yours Truly,
Kelley
Conference Blogger Kelley Taksier (they/them/theirs) is a former classroom teacher pursuing a PhD in special education at the University of Florida. Currently their research focuses on students’ access to texts in public schools. As a part of this work, they collaborate with school librarians, who encouraged them to join and attend ALA! They are looking forward to connecting with more school librarians at their first ALA conference in between enjoying all the vegan food San Diego has to offer.
Please note that as a guest post, the views expressed here do not represent the official position of ALA or ALSC.
Lilliemarie Lewis
As a Dean in a Florida middle school, I am a true listening ear and open heart to my students. I listen to them and use books and life lessons to strengthen them and remind them that they are safe.