Oscar-winning actress, Julianne Moore has expressed her disappointment and shock that her children’s book ‘Freckleface Strawberry’ is one of countless titles that have been banned by the Trump administration from any schools run by the ‘Department of Defense’. The book, which was first published in 2007, is a semi-autobiographical story about a seven-year-old girl who doesn’t like her red hair and freckles but eventually learns to love her unique look.
In an Instagram post, Moore wrote: “It is a great shock for me to learn that my first book, Freckleface Strawberry, has been banned by the Trump Administration from schools run by the Department of Defense. Freckleface Strawberry is a semi-autobiographical story about a seven year old [sic] girl who dislikes her freckles but eventually learns to live with them when she realizes that she is different “just like everybody else.” It is a book I wrote for my children and for other kids to remind them that we all struggle, but are united by our humanity and our community.
“I am particularly stunned because I am a proud graduate of Frankfurt American High School a #DOD [Department of Defense] school that once operated in Frankfurt, Germany. I grew up with a father who is a Vietnam veteran and spent his career in the U.S Army. I could not be prouder of him and his service to our country. It is galling for me to realize that kids like me, growing up with a parent in the service and attending a [Department of Defense] school will not have access to a book written by someone whose life experience is so similar to their own.
“And I can’t help but wonder what is so controversial about this picture book that cause it to be banned by the US Government. I am truly saddened and never thought I would see this in a country where freedom of speech and expression is a constitutional right.”
PEN America – an organisation that defends the freedom to write in the U.S. – revealed that “just weeks after the Trump Administration claimed book bans were a “hoax”, the same administration is purging books from schools run by the Department of Defense, serving 67,000 children around the world”.
In addition to ‘Freckleface Strawberry’, other books on the banned list include ‘Becoming Nicole’; a true story about a family learning to nuture and love their transgender daughter, and ‘No Truth Without Ruth’; a book about feminist icon, Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The list flagged for “compliance review” also includes instructional materials for sixth graders for Black History Month, according to reporting by The Washington Post and The Guardian.
PEN America added: “A memo sent to Defense Department schools obtained by the Guardian also demands that school documents use the word “sex” not “gender,” prohibits email signatures with personal pronouns, and instructs schools to stop celebrating cultural observances including Black History Month. An earlier memo obtained by the Washington Post banned a chapter on “sexuality and gender” used in psychology for high schoolers and elementary school publication titled “How Does Immigration Affect the US?”
“The removal of these titles is yet another indicator of the new Administration’s flippant and autocratic approach to K-12 education.”
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PEN America urges their followers to send a letter to their member of congress, explaining: “After President Donald Trump’s recent executive order 14149 “Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship,” in which he declared government censorship of speech “intolerable in a free society,” he immediately set about doing just that. Subsequent executive orders (including 14168 and 14151)require federal agencies to remove reference to “gender,” “diversity,” “inclusion,” and “environmental justice” from all federal documents. Staff at the National Science Foundation have reportedly been told to scrutinize projects that use words including “disability,” “women,” “female,” “minority,” “historically,” “underrepresented,” or “socioeconomic.” There is no act of censorship more explicit than literally banning words. These orders will have a clear chilling effect that will range well beyond the halls of government.”
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