Pumpkin Heads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks

In honor of Women’s History Month, we discuss Margaret Atwood’s 1985 banned dystopian novel that hits a little too close to home and why it is so important to read. 

Sources:

• France becomes first country to make abortion a constitutional right | CNN

• Florida delays ‘fetal personhood’ bill after fallout from Alabama IVF ruling

• Boston woman with history of antisemitic remarks loses Mass. GOP committee race - masslive.com

• Caitlin Clark record draws top in-season TV rating since '99 - ESPN

• Sex Begins in the Womb - Exploring the Biological Contributions to Human Health - NCBI Bookshelf

• Court Rejects Desantis' Stop Woke in the Workplace

• Kellogg's Strike!

"But he's so articulate!" Join us as we discuss cereal for dinner, the meaning behind calling someone an “oreo”, and how code-switching can be used as a survival technique.

In this episode, we cover the middle-grade graphic novel: New Kid by Jerry Craft. Craft has five African-American literary awards and is the co-founder of the Schomburg Center’s Annual Black Comic Book Festival. New Kid was the first graphic novel to be awarded a Newbery Medal in 2020 and also received the Coretta Scott King Award, and the 2019 Kirkus Prize for Young Readers' Literature. 

Sources and Show Notes:

• BUY: New Kid and Class Act: The Box Set a book by Jerry Craft

• Albert Einstein College of Medicine to offer free tuition after billion-dollar gift | CNN Business

• @rbreich - "shrinkflation"

• Let them eat Flakes: Kellogg’s CEO says poor families should consider ‘cereal for dinner’ | US news | The Guardian

• Assimilationist Analysis in Stamped from the Beginning | LitCharts

• ‘He’s So Articulate.’ What That Really Means

• The Racial Politics of Speaking Well - Lynette Clemetson - The New York Times

Sci-fi/Fantasy books featuring non-white protagonists:

Rick Riordan Presents Sal and Gabi Break the Universe (a Sal and Gabi Novel, Book 1) a book by Carlos Hernandez

Amari and the Night Brothers a book by B. B. Alston

Future Hero a book by Remi Blackwood

Shuri and t'Challa: Into the Heartlands (an Original Black Panther Graphic Novel)

Maya and the Rising Dark by Rena Barron

The Marvellers a book by Dhonielle Clayton and Khadijah Khatib

Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun (Reprint) a book by Tolá Okogwu

Dragons in a Bag a book by Zetta Elliott and Geneva B.

Seekers of the Wild Realm (Reprint) a book by Alexandra Ott

Momo Arashima Steals the Sword of the Wind a book by Misa Sugiura

Jennifer and Courtney discuss the real history of country music that Florida (and other states) don’t want you to know. 

Sources:

Country music roots traced to slave ships

Black Artists Helped Build Country Music—And Then It Left Them Behind.

The instrument with a fascinating past – The Banjo

“Billboard asserted that the song, by black rapper Lil’ Nas X, “does not embrace enough elements of today’s country music.” 

Beyoncé Makes History as “Texas Hold ’Em” Tops Billboard’s Hot Country Songs Chart | Pitchfork

Conservative country music fans lash out at CMA performance by Beyoncé and the Dixie Chicks - Los Angeles Times

Cafe Resistance Book Store in Jacksonville, FL

“Daddy's Lessons” rejected by Grammy Committee

Jacksonville students create their own Black History curriculum

AP African American Studies 

Ayman: Anger over Beyoncé's new songs is part of long history of racism in country music

 

This episode is dedicated to Nex Benedict, and authentic young soul whose light was unjustly extinguished on February 8, 2024, after being beaten by their classmates at Owasso High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Jennifer and Courtney reveal the negative impact of Chaya Raichik's "Libs of TikTok" and her connection to the Oklahoma State Superintendent who wants to erase LGBTQ+ rights. Join Courtney and Jennifer as they discuss how these extremists only encourage violence against LGBTQ+ youth and what we can do to make sure Nex's death is not in vain. 

 

Sources:

Libs of TikTok targeted a district, then a non-binary student was killed on campus

Chaya Raichik appears to have trespassed at the Capitol

Oklahoma non-binary high schooler dies after physical altercation

Rest in power nex benedict — Freedom Oklahoma

Teen beaten to death in a school bathroom bullying attack. The school didn’t call an ambulance. (msn.com)

Libs of TikTok posts lead to bomb threats against public schools - LGBTQ Nation

Oklahoma lawmaker asks Walters for proof of pornographic material in schools (koco.com)

Clip of Ryan Walters on M4L podcast https://fb.watch/qkC-MfaqwE/

Jan 23, 2024 Libs of TikTok's Chaya Raichik named to Oklahoma library committee (usatoday.com)

June 2023 video put out by OK state Dept of Education Protecting Students from Leftist Social Experiments by Upholding the Law (youtube.com)

2 spirit folks- The History of Two-Spirit Folks — The Indigenous Foundation

Books on gender identity:

• Fine: A comic about gender by Rhea ewing
• The Out Side: Trans and Nonbinary Comics by various writers
• How to They/Them: A Visual Guide to Nonbinary Pronouns and the World of Gender Fluidity by Stuart Getty and Brooke Thyng
• Both can be true by Jules Machias
• Beyond the Gender Binary by Alok Vaid-Menon
• A Quick & Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns by Archie Bongiovanni and Tristan Jimerson

Vigils for Nex:

February 25, 2024 at 6:30 - Redbud Festival Park, Owasso, OK

February 24, 2024 at 6:30 - Point A Art Gallery, 2124 NW 39th, Oklahoma City 

February 26, 2024 at 5:30 - Stonewall, NYC

 

 

 

 

 

 

In this episode, Jennifer and Courtney discuss weird Valentine’s day gifts, foot fetishes, and cereal baths, but then get serious to discuss the realities of police brutality and the importance of having books like All American Boys available in schools. 

Buy  All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely

• Banned Books 2022 – All American Boys – Marshall Libraries

• All American Boys | Book by Jason Reynolds, Brendan Kiely | Official Publisher Page | Simon & Schuster

• Sisters make $150k in less than 24 hours by selling cereal bath water to fans - US News

• Confederate Monuments - "White Power"

• The truth behind the 'He Gets Us' ads airing during the Super Bowl | CNN

• Miami school’s permission slip for African American author’s reading causes controversy – NBC 6 South Florida

Happy Black History month! In this junior episode, Jennifer and Courtney discuss chicken strips, goblin butts, and colorism. 

Sulwe was written by Lupita Nyong’o and illustrated by Vashti Harrison. This book was a recipient of the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Award and the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Children's Literary Work!

BUY:Sulwe a book by Lupita Nyong'o and Vashti Harrison

Banned Books 2022 – Sulwe – Marshall Libraries

The History of the Black Student Union | BestColleges.

Moms for Liberty Has a Nudity Problem – Mother Jones

Florida prohibits DEI in public colleges amid 'Stop WOKE' legal battles - ABC News

Levar Burton's New Show: BannedBook Rainbow

Join Jennifer and Courtney for the first installment of the “WTF” mini-series where they highlight recent happenings regarding our kids that make you say “WTF”. In this minisode, they focus on troublesome bills that could become oppressive laws.

Sources:

Equality Florida 2024 Legislative Slate

ACLU of Florida Opposes Committee Passage of House Bill Chilling the Speech of People Critical of Public Officials

Florida Republican wants to allow teens to work in roofing and construction | Orlando

Senate child labor bill gets rewrite to limit teen workers on construction sites

Pride Flag Ban

9 Ridiculous Kentucky Laws You Should Know - Louisville Lawyers, Cooper and Friedman

YOUTH ACTION FUND:

Youth Action Fund (@youthactionfund) • Instagram photos and videos

Youth Action Fund ✊ (@YouthActionFund) / X

https://linktr.ee/YouthActionFund

Youth Action Fund Wishlist

Find your reps and email them your opposition to bills that attack, isolate, and erase the LGBTQ+ community!

Find Your Representative | Florida House of Representatives (myfloridahouse.gov)

Find Your Legislators - The Florida Senate (flsenate.gov)

In this episode, Courtney and Jennifer cover a book that led to an 11 year old’s supposed porn addiction.

• Woman Who Claims Scholastic Book Caused Her Porn Addiction Works for Right-Wing Publisher
• BUY Raina Telgemeier - DRAMA
• BUY Raina Telgemeier Collection Box Set (Smile, Drama, Sisters, Ghosts, Guts)

Trigger warning: This episode contains brief references to SA. 

Just in time for the December 25th movie theater debut of the musical, “The Color Purple”, Jennifer and Courtney cover the original novel written by Alice Walker in 1982. One of the most banned books throughout the world, “The Color Purple” is a timeless classic loved by many but is “trash” to some, despite Walker being the first Black woman to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

Buy the book: The Color Purple a book by Alice Walker

 

Trigger warning: This episode contains brief references to SA. 

In this “no-book” epsiode, Courtney and Jennifer cover hypocrisy in the state of Florida with updates on Moms for Liberty’s “menage a trois” scandal, Ronny boy’s authoritarian views of school libraries, and more!

 Jennifer and Courtney will be covering “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker later this month before it gets released on the big screen on December 25th. 

 Sources:

Florida GOP Chair Christian Ziegler, husband of Moms for Liberty cofounder, accused of sexual assault by alleged menage a trois lover - Florida Center for Government Accountability (FLCGA)

Moms for Liberty Deleted Tweet

Congressman Maxwell Frost's Fight Book Bans Act

Florida SAT scores drop again while politicians wage culture wars | Commentary

 

5-Star Stories:

Karen Smith, School Board member gets sworn in on a stack of banned books

Karen Smith suspends hateful school board policies

Pink will give away thousands of banned books at her Florida shows - Good Morning America

Illinois Governor extends Dolly's Library