Hostile Territory: Mapping Michigan’s Anti-LGBTQ+ Movement & other Government Acts of Censorship

After a conservative majority was elected to the Brandywine Community Schools Board of Education in Niles, they passed a motion to deny all books deemed as sexually explicit or violent from entering the middle school and high school libraries.  

Link

Last year, patrons of the Caro Area District Library asked that three books on sexual education – two children’s books, and one for teens – be moved from their current section of the library to the adult section. The Caro library director denied the request and the patrons appealed. At a October 13, 2023, Caro Area District Library board meeting, the board sided with the library director, voting to keep the books where they are. The following month, the Michigan The Michigan Library Association awarded the Caro Area District Library the 2023 Intellectual Freedom Award. 

Link

A group of  parents and community members seeking the removal of Toni Morrison’s "The Bluest Eye" – a powerful novel telling the story of a young, sexually abused Black girl in the years following the Great Depression – failed in their efforts when the school board voted 6-1 to keep making the book available to students.

Link

In response to complaints from community members about the contents of some books, Chippewa Valley Schools in Macomb County created a committee to review books that are “challenged” by a parent or anyone associated with the district. By November, according to media reports, 13 books had been removed for various reasons. The number removed for having allegedly obscene content was not disclosed.

Link

The school board voted to remove eight books from the media centers of the Davison middle and high schools. Included were the critically acclaimed novels "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe", "The Perks of Being a Wallflower", and "We Are OK."

Link

Dearborn Public Schools permanently removed from the high school library the critically acclaimed novels "Push" and "Red, White and Royal Blue."

The Deckerville Library board voted unanimously to keep "Gender Queer: A Memoir" in its collection after requests were made to remove the book from shelves.

Link

When some residents launched complaints about "Patience and Esther: an Edwardian Romance"  -- which features a lesbian romance between the title characters – the library board voted 4-1 to keep the book on its shelves. 

Link

After it was revealed that six books – including those with LGBTQ+ themes and characters – were secretly removed from Forest Hills Schools, generating scrutiny by the ACLU of Michigan and the National Coalition Against Censorship, the books were returned to circulation.    

Link

In what was widely seen as an attempt to censor teachers and students in the LGBTQ+ community, the board of education in Fowlerville issued a ban on all flags other than the American flag, Michigan flag, and military flag. Any other display – including student posters and stickers – would need special approval. Immediately after the decision, there was a reported surge in bullying directed at LGBTQ+ students.

Link

The Galesburg-Augusta Community Schools Board of Education voted to remove Maia Kobabe’s “Gender Queer: A Memoir” permanently from the library collection at Galesburg-Augusta High School.

Link

After a meeting of the Board of Education, at which the district’s flag policy was discussed but no vote or formal action taken regarding the issue, Pride flags were removed from classrooms throughout the district in this rural community in the upper Peninsula.

Link

The Hamtramck City Council voted unanimously to ban all expressive flags from public property, except for the American flag, the Michigan flag, the POW flag, and flags that represent the native countries of immigrant residents. The ban, having come during Pride Month, was widely considered to be targeted at the LGBTQ+ Pride flag. A federal lawsuit has been filed challenging the constitutionality of the ban. 

Link

During Pride Month, the Hartland Consolidated Schools Board of Education passed a policy that severely restricts the types of flags, signs, posters, and stickers that can be displayed on district property, including Pride flags, and “safe space” rainbow stickers intended to signal a classroom is safe for LGBTQ+ students. 

Link

Hillsdale Community Library board successfully fought an attempt to remove all LGBTQ+ books from the children’s section of the library and an attempt to ban a “Harry Potter”. But the controversy did result in both the head librarian and children’s librarian resigning.  

Link

After a parent complained about the book "Jarhead", a memoir about a U.S. Marine’s Gulf War experiences, a seven-member book review committee unanimously decided to keep making the book available to students. A split school board overrode that decision and removed the book completely.

Link

Following media reports that the Lapeer County prosecutor was mulling criminal charges against library officials if the book “Gender Queer: A Memoir” was not removed from shelves, the Lapeer District Library Board refused to buckle to the attempted intimidation and voted unanimously to retain the book.

Link

After the book, “All Boys Aren’t Blue” was challenged, a seven-member committee was formed to read the book and make a recommendation. The committee voted 6-1 to keep the book as it was, restricted to seniors only at the high school.

Link

The Northview Public Schools in Grand Rapids will keep eight books, that a community member challenged, on the district’s library shelves. The school board voted unanimously to deny the appeal of a citizen who claimed the books were sexually explicit. The initial challenge of the eight books, many of which have been challenged across the country, was also denied. According to a news report, the books are not required reading, but are available to students in grades 7 through 12.

Link

Following a complaint from one parent, "Lawn Boy", a semi-autobiographical coming of age book about a Mexican-American youth that touches on issues of race, class and sexuality was removed from general circulation at the school library.

Link

When the Patmos Library staff refused to remove its books containing LGBTQ themes, Jamestown Township residents twice voted to defund their only library. A GoFundMe campaign generated more than enough to keep the library open. Following the election of a conservative majority to the library board, a compromise was reached to keep all of the books that sparked challenges on library shelves after getting labels providing a brief overview of the genre and subject matter. Voters then approved the tax millage needed to fund the library. 

Link

The Peter White Public Library Board of Trustees voted unanimously to keep, “This Book is Gay,” a pro-LGBTQ+ book by Juno Dawson on the shelves after a formal request had been filed by a Marquette resident to remove it. The book is one among several that have been commonly challenged across the nation.

Link

The acclaimed work, "Push: A Novel", by Sapphire was removed from Portage Public Schools’ general library collection. "Push", which was made into the award-winning movie "Precious", tells the heart-rending story of a Black, pregnant, sexually abused teenager and her harrowing efforts to survive.

Link

A group sued Rockford Public Schools in an attempt to ban 14 books – several of which were centered around LGBTQ themes – claiming they were sexually explicit or pornographic. A judge dismissed the lawsuit, stating in a written ruling, “Plaintiffs cannot establish that a reasonable person would not find value in the identified works as a whole. In fact, every book identified by Plaintiffs has either received accolades or been on best-seller lists.” The books remain on the district library shelves.

Link

Patrons challenged 16 books, mostly LGBTQ+ themed, on the shelves of the Salem-South Lyon District Library. But the library board voted to keep all the books in its collection.

Link  

After the district’s material review committee approved keeping the graphic novel “Gender Queer: A Memoir”, the Spring Lake Public Schools Board of Education, responding from complaints from two parents, reversed course and voted 4-3 to have Maia Kobabe’s powerful and moving story of self-discovery removed from the high school’s media center.

Link

After a parent complained about 15 books – including Kurt Vonnegut’s classic "Slaughterhouse Five" and a number of books dealing with LGBTQ+ characters and issues – a committee composed of administrators and parents in the St. Joseph Public Schools District reviewed the challenged materials and voted to keep using them.

Link

Shortly after administrators in the Three Rivers School District banned teachers at its middle school from displaying Pride flags in their classrooms, protests by students and the public prompted the school board to vote unanimously to reverse course and remove the ban.

Link

Four books were challenged and reviewed at the Troy School District. According to the Michigan Education Association, here is the outcome: “Fun Home: a Family Tragicomic”  is restricted to sign-out for students 18 and up or with a parent’s permission; “All Boys Aren’t Blue” remains available for check-out; “Jack of Hearts (and other parts)” was removed; and “ttyl” was moved to the high school collection from the middle school.

Link