Puerto Rican mom speaks out against Florida’s book bans

Nearly 2,700 titles were targeted for restriction or removal in Florida schools and public libraries in 2023, according to data released by the American Library Association in March of 2024.

Coral Negrón Almodóvar has loved reading ever since she was a child growing up in Puerto Rico, but in her hometown of Guayanilla she had limited access to public libraries. That’s why when she moved to New York City after Hurricane María in 2017, she was smitten by city’s libraries.

“Just think, after I moved to Manhattan, which I would say is the public library capital of the United States. Wow, that was the most drastic and biggest life change. In fact, we became members, I think, of every library in my neighborhood, of the main one, of the schools,” Negrón, a mother of three, told Floricua.

But after the pandemic, Negrón left the city and ended up with her family in Lake Nona, Florida. 

“I think moving to Florida was a big culture shock. Because I think you know that it’s really different here. That culture of voracious readers. Well, here they do the opposite: ban books,” said Negrón, creator of the reading initiative for children Peques Lectores.

Over the past two years, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida Republicans have enacted laws making it easier for parents to challenge school library books they consider pornographic, harmful to minors, or otherwise inappropriate. Under the expanded 2023 law, schools must remove challenged books from shelves within five days and keep them out of circulation while the challenge is reviewed. If a book is deemed inappropriate by school officials, it can be permanently removed or restricted to certain grade levels.

Nearly 2,700 titles were targeted for restriction or removal in Florida schools and public libraries in 2023, according to data released by the American Library Association in March of 2024.

Over 75% of the banned books were specifically written for younger audiences and feature characters of color, themes of race and racism, and LGBTQ+ identities.

“I think my son has read every book that is banned here. In fact, there is a book that is one of our favorites, that he’s had since he was 6 years old. It’s called ‘And Tango Makes Three,’ and it’s a book about some penguins,” said. “Look at what they ban here. It’s about two male penguins in Central Park Zoo in New York. And their caretaker realized that they felt affection towards each other. And obviously they’re both boys. They cannot reproduce, but at one point a penguin died, and the egg was given to them. They incubated the egg, they took care of it, and they were three with Tango because they named the baby Tango. And yes, maybe it’s a book that teaches that maybe, well it is, that homosexuality is the most natural thing. It’s something that I think people with certain agendas don’t accept.”

The book bans have sparked significant backlash, with some teachers and school officials feeling overwhelmed by the volume of challenges.

Records reveal that out of approximately 1,100 complaints recorded in Florida between July 2022 and August 2023, around 600 were filed by just two individuals—a father from Clay County and a high school teacher from Pensacola. This, according to a Tampa Bay Times review, suggests that while the state’s book banning movement is limited in scope, a small group of activists can “overwhelm” school districts.

In March of 2024, the Florida Senate approved a bill with a provision that would limit challenges to one book per month for people who don’t have students enrolled in the school district in which they placed an objection.

The vote came after the Legislature’s top leaders expressed the need to rein in frivolous objections to materials available in classrooms and libraries.

Are you ready to vote? Make sure to check your voter registration status, see who’s on your ballot, and make a voting plan here.

RELATED: Moms for Liberty members are advising Florida librarians on school books