𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐚 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝑊ℎ𝑦 𝑛𝑢𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒, 𝑎𝑟𝑡, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 ℎ𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑎 𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑡ℎ 𝑖𝑛 𝑒𝑥𝑖𝑙𝑒 — 𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑙 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎 ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑠𝑒 𝑏𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑏𝑎𝑑 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘 Well, that didn’t take long. Earlier this week, we posted about the U.S. Naval Academy quietly pulling nearly 400 books from its library shelves — titles flagged under new “sensitivity” guidelines for daring to mention things like race, gender, or diversity. And wouldn’t you know it — within hours, the military appeared to reconsider and restored nearly all of the nearly 400 removed titles. Obviously we’re 𝑛𝑜𝑡 suggesting that the entire Department of Defense is glued to Annie’s Foundation’s Instagram… …but if they are: welcome! We’ve got thoughts — and a reading list. Let’s start with 𝐻𝑜𝑟𝑠𝑒 by Geraldine Brooks. Because until just a few days ago, this remarkable novel was one of the titles deemed too ideologically “sensitive” for future officers. It’s about Lexington — a real 19th-century racehorse — and the Black groom who raised and trained him in the antebellum South. But more than that, it’s about stolen lives, whitewashed legacies, art, bones, memory, and the lies we tell about American history. The story weaves across time: 🐎 The 1850s South 🎨 1950s New York 🏛️ Modern-day Washington, D.C. It’s historical fiction grounded in fact — the kind that forces readers to confront the legacy of slavery and systemic racism, to see whose stories have been preserved and whose have been buried. It’s exactly the kind of book we 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 want thoughtful young adults — especially future military officers — to read. And yet, even though 𝐻𝑜𝑟𝑠𝑒 wasn’t part of any required curriculum, it was removed — flagged as “ideologically sensitive,” alongside dozens of other books that mention race, gender, or diversity. Meanwhile, 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐵𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝐶𝑢𝑟𝑣𝑒 — which promotes debunked claims about racial hierarchies — remained untouched. You can’t make it up. This is what happens when book bans are driven not by educators, but by political keyword searches and moral panic. When fiction about racism is treated as more dangerous than racism itself. 𝐻𝑜𝑟𝑠𝑒 is back now. But that doesn’t erase what it reveals: that censorship is alive and well, and that even libraries at our nation’s top military academies aren’t immune from ideological purges. So read the book. Talk about the book. Recommend the book. Because stories — especially the ones some people don’t want you to read — have a way of galloping back. 💬 𝐼𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢’𝑣𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝐻𝑜𝑟𝑠𝑒, 𝑤𝑒’𝑑 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑠. 𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑛’𝑡, 𝑚𝑎𝑦𝑏𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒. 𝐼𝑡’𝑠 𝑎 𝑏𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑡ℎ 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 — 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑡ℎ 𝑑𝑒𝑓𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔. Support our work by donating here: https://buff.ly/PQTm5Md #ReadBannedBooks (fb)

Iowa Legislative Update - Some really bad bills failed in 2025. Will they resurface next year? https://mailchi.mp/anniesfoundation/our-public-libraries-are-under-attack-17234131 (fb)