1990's Vintage "Save Annie" 2" Button - Banned Book - Annie on My Mind - LGBTIQ+

Description

This auction is for
a set of three
2" diameter buttons from Kansas City in the 1990's, from the very controversial "Annie on my Mind" book censorship case.
In 1993, the
LGBT
organization Project 21 donated
Annie on My Mind
, along with Frank Mosca's
All-American Boys
, to 42 high schools in the
Kansas City
area. Because both books included homosexual themes, some parents objected that the books were made available to high school students. During the controversy, copies of the book were
burned
.
When author Nancy Garden was asked, "Did you know your book has just been burned in Kansas City?"Garden commented on the incident, "Burned! I didn't think people burned books any more. Only Nazis burn books.
"
On December 13, 1993, superintendent Ron Wimmer, of the
Olathe (Kansas)
School District, ordered the book removed from the high school library.
[8]
Wimmer said he made his decision in order to "avoid controversy", such as the public book burning.
The Olathe School District refused to accept copies of the book, removing a copy that had sat on its shelf for over ten years. In response, the
American Civil Liberties Union
joined several families and a teacher and sued the school district for removing the book.
Two years later in September 1995, the case went to trial. In November 1995, US District Court Justice Thomas Van Bebber ruled that while a school district is not obligated to purchase any book, it cannot remove a book from library shelves unless that book is deemed educationally unsuitable. He ruled
Annie on My Mind
to be educationally suitable, and called its removal an unconstitutional attempt to "prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion".
On December 29, 1999, the school district announced it would not appeal the court's decision, and restored
Annie on My Mind
to library shelves. The entire proceeding had cost the district over 0,000.
After the banning controversy, author Nancy Garden became a spokesperson on behalf of children's intellectual freedom as readers. This earned her Robert B. Downs Intellectual Freedom Award in 2000.
In excellent condition as shown.  Will ship in a padded enveloped for .  Enjoy!