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鈥淪he鈥檚 a sparrow when she鈥檚 broken / But she鈥檚 an eagle when she flies鈥濃�擠olly Parton, 鈥淓agle When She Flies鈥�

Every day for the past 22 years, I鈥檝e left my house and traveled the same route to work. It takes exactly six minutes from the time I leave until the moment I open the door of my SUV to walk inside my school. Every day I walk to the passenger side to get my purse, school bag, and thermos of iced tea to drink at work, and then look at the large cutout of an eagle over the gym on my way into school. 

I attended Live Oak schools from elementary through high school, and the eagle has always been our mascot. After I graduated college, I went back to work at the school I attended as a child, once more an eagle. I have been an eagle for 35 of the 45 years that I have been alive, in more ways than one.

A few years ago, I took an online test that compares personalities to animals, and I had to laugh when my results came back as an eagle. Eagle personalities were described as being goal-driven, bold, action-oriented, and not afraid of a challenge. Eagle personalities, much like the actual bird of prey, are daring, persistent, savage yet nurturing, resilient.

Upon reflection, I wouldn鈥檛 say that I am naturally a courageous person, but I will go toe to toe with someone, regardless of who they are or how dangerous, if they try to harm me or someone I love. Like an eagle, I can be ferocious when needed.

After July 2022, when both myself and my became targets in Louisiana, I decided to show just how ferocious I could be. I never thought that attending a public library board meeting to speak against censorship would make me a target, but I wasn鈥檛 going to take it lying down. I set forth to create a game plan to help my parish that included getting to know the players, gathering allies, and creating alliances, and the determination that while we might lose some skirmishes along the way, we would win the big game no matter what. I am playing chess to their checkers.

The pro-censors are loud and obnoxious, and they鈥檙e only growing bolder. They鈥檒l continue their rampage unless rational people speak out against them. This movement could have detrimental effects on our schools and libraries for decades to come if we don鈥檛 consistently confront them. 

People who believe in inclusivity, the freedom to read, and the public good need to be even louder and more active than the book banners. They post about saving children but provide no evidence that children are in danger. It鈥檚 not about kids for them. We all want to protect children. That has never been the difference between us and them. Their agenda is all about silencing voices, politics, and money. It鈥檚 very important in the quest for intellectual freedom that we get to know our foes.

I highly recommend that everyone take the following steps to stay informed within your community:

Attend school board, library board, and local governance meetings.

Take notes on which officials use words like 鈥渨oke鈥� and 鈥渋ndoctrination.鈥� If they use words like 鈥済ender ideology鈥� and 鈥渟exually explicit material,鈥� chances are they are pro-censorship. Hate and oppression is a running theme, and you will find that they all post the same ridiculous memes filled with lies and conspiracy theories.

Follow the social media accounts of elected officials and take screenshots to document any extremist views.

Share the knowledge with others in your community.

Use a website like to track legislation and your elected officials.

Stay in the know.

Use your state government鈥檚 website to look up politicians and their donors.

Follow the money and you will find the motives.

Vote in every local election.

Keeping tabs on the pro-censors in other areas allows you to prepare for their hateful antics. From following the push to censor materials in St. Tammany Parish, I took note of some issues they had with their library signs. The St. Tammany Library Alliance, a group of citizens devoted to protecting the library, posted signs around town that said 鈥淭rust Our Librarians.鈥� A group of local far-right ideologues then purchased nearly identical signs that said 鈥淣o One Trusts Our Librarians.鈥� I made a mental note to be sure that our future signs were harder to mock.

I also found out about an email that a woman named Connie sent the director of the St. Tammany Parish Public Library that said, among other things, 鈥淢y ultimate goal is to make sure that you are not there,鈥� and 鈥淲e will see who ultimately prevails but remember I have God on my side, God always wins, and if you underestimate me you do so at your own peril.鈥� I checked in with our director to make sure she was OK, and she told me a man called the library to tell her she was a cunt. The types of people who call and email librarians with threats and inappropriate comments are vile. Be sure you counteract the hate by emailing positivity to your library staff to help counter the negativity they hear too often.

After the attacks on me, I was helped by continued messages of support from across my state and the country. People I had never met were sending me postcards, letters, and gifts to my school, our local library, and the local bookstore. Hundreds of supportive emails were sent my way, and it made me feel less alone. I looked for ways to pay those messages forward and started combing through social media posts in communities where I knew librarians and educators were also being attacked. 

I would see the same disgusting comments over and over, but occasionally I would see someone defend the librarian or educator. I would then private-message those people and share how supportive emails had helped me and ask them to consider sending one to their local librarian. Who knows if the librarian would see the social media post, but a personal email can make a real positive impact. It鈥檚 one small way I have tried to help others.

I then discovered that the school librarian Christopher Harris has made the process a little easier with his website . This amazing website allows you to sign up so that you can mail messages of support to librarians across the country. You can also send them names of librarians under attack so that they will receive letters, and you can even donate to this website to help support their work. A letter may seem like such a small thing, but it can mean the world to somebody who is being bombarded with hate.

A bigger step to support your library, and stand up for intellectual freedom, is to create a solid community alliance for your school and public libraries. I have found that the vast majority of people are against censorship, but sometimes they can easily fall for lies posted on social media. A solid alliance can dispel lies and promote the truth. Alliances also act as support for the librarians and a common place where like-minded individuals can gather to plan and show solidarity. Many people want to help, but they don鈥檛 know how.

Alliances can keep residents informed about public meetings, agenda items, and politicians, as well as promote positivity. The citizen alliances joined forces during the 2023 Louisiana legislative session, and we were able to send thousands of emails and letters to legislators about the four anti-library bills.

With an alliance in place, you can play offense rather than defense. When I was first targeted, I was blessed to have personal support from ; our community was fortunate to have their help in creating a citizen alliance for our parish鈥檚 entire public library system. EveryLibrary was key in helping our residents set up a game plan for success, and with their help we steadily held off the censors. Consider contacting EveryLibrary for assistance getting started on an alliance.

Alliances offer support to our librarians. Whether it鈥檚 an email, the sharing of a post, or attending a public meeting, we want them to know that there鈥檚 an entire army behind them in the community. 

If you are alone and don鈥檛 know where to start, create an alliance Facebook page and invite your friends and family who support libraries. Ask them to invite their library-supporting friends. At each public meeting, pass out flyers with the name of your Facebook page and a little bit about your alliance. It鈥檚 amazing how quickly it will grow. 

I am proud to have founded a grassroots alliance of residents from across our parish that has helped our public library system. We started out as a very small group but found dozens of people willing to help over time. You can put as much or as little as you want into an alliance, but make no mistake: Your community needs one.

While larger groups like the American Library Association, PEN America, and EveryLibrary can help with the big picture, campaigns, and resources, the real work is at the local level with grassroots efforts. It takes members of the community to stand up, speak out, and stick together as a cohesive unit. You are better together in numbers. 

Consider forming a statewide alliance, or team up with your state鈥檚 library or school library association. Lynette Mejia and Melanie Brevis had already formed a solid community alliance in neighboring Lafayette. They wanted to unify the many parish alliances under one banner, and we formed . All it takes is one person, or a small group, to get the ball rolling.

When, inevitably, you have people in your community who try to say that there are sexually explicit materials in your school or public library, first and foremost it鈥檚 important to remind them about collection development and reconsideration policies. After that, prove their lies wrong. 

The next time you hear someone say there are sexually explicit materials in children鈥檚 sections of your library (which is not true), here are some suggestions:

Ask this person to give you a title of an actual book.

Look on your library鈥檚 catalog to see if the book even exists and/or if it is even in the children鈥檚 section. You can usually see for yourself that their claim is false. Then YOU don鈥檛 have to perpetuate the rumor and can stop it in its tracks.

Check out the book and read it for yourself.

Remember that every book might not be your cup of tea, but that doesn鈥檛 mean the book is sexually explicit. If you object to a title, fill out a formal request for reconsideration if you feel that is necessary. Keep in mind that a book in the adult section must fail to be considered obscene and sexually explicit. Books are taken as a whole and based on literary merit鈥攏ot just one page out of context.

Ask yourself if they have a hidden motive.

Once you can prove to them that their claims are false and they continue to spread the lie, ask yourself why. You鈥檇 be amazed at how many people simply want to spread lies, even if they know they are lies. That鈥檚 called chasing clout. They want to feel important and/or were fed disinformation that they did not take the time to verify.

See if they or a family member is running for office.

Are they just jumping on the bandwagon of using the library as a punching bag to stir up drama so that they can say they will swoop in and save the day from that fake issue? This is called pandering for votes.

Ask your friendly neighborhood librarian or email the alliance, and we will help prove it for you!

Back in July 2022, I went to a public library board meeting thinking I would do my part to give one speech, sit down, and life would go on. Instead, I became a target. I could have chosen to ignore the online lies and hate being told about me, but why should I have stayed silent when I had done nothing wrong? In fact, they probably would have forgotten about me in a few weeks or months. Would I still be looking over my shoulder today had I chosen to do nothing?

Probably not. I chose to take a stand, and that decision changed the trajectory of my life. I chose to fight back. It was a hard decision that I did not take lightly. It has taken an emotional, physical, and mental toll on me and my family. I have zero regrets. This has become a purpose in my life鈥攖o stick up for librarians and libraries, speak out for historically marginalized students and authors, fight back against online bullying, and help others find their voices to do the same. However, I want others to understand that it is OK to walk away. There is no shame in taking care of yourself and your family first.

Regardless of my lawsuit, I will continue to speak out against censorship. Even if it takes years, we will win in the long run. I am an eagle through and through. An eagle will protect its territory by flying around it or by perching conspicuously near the top of a nearby tree. I will attend every local meeting with a watchful eye. I will continue to speak out. Like an eagle protecting her nest, I will help protect my community and myself from those who threaten us. I will circle above, going high instead of low, until the threat leaves the area.

This excerpt, adapted from by Amanda Jones (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2024), appears by permission of the publisher.

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