EL PASO, Texas – The City of El Paso has partnered with YWCA El Paso to bring banned and questioned books to all public libraries.
The banned book ceremony was held on Saturday at the Chamizal Community Center.
The theme of the new section is “Every story counts”. The YWCA said this is to draw attention to the need for inclusion within the community.
They have collected donations from the city and community of El Paso, but said they continue to fundraise to have these sections in all El Paso public libraries.
The city representative for District 2, Alexandra Annello, who is also part of the collaboration, said that this is a resolution that the City Council, together with the YWCA, approved a couple of months ago and is now being released. .
She said it is in response to the attack on education and information that has been going on in the state.
“The state can limit what schools provide, but it can’t limit what cities and city libraries provide, so we really want to end solidarity with our education system across the state, make these books available and make a statement that we as a community are not accepting of this kind of hate,” Annello said.
Over the past year, the ban on books in Texas schools has gained some momentum.
Republican lawmakers have pushed to remove books from schools they deem pornographic.
Texas State Representative Jared Patterson of Frisco wrote a letter to Texas school districts in March.
In the letter, Rep. Patterson wrote, “If we stand united against explicit children’s materials, booksellers will be forced to adapt.”
If you want to donate books, you can visit this website.