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Support for book bans varies in Md. school board races

New state law fails to protect majority of targeted titles

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(Book cover images courtesy of the publishers)

Colt Black is many things: a mortician, an emergency medical technician, a firefighter, a father, a husband and a candidate for the Frederick County Public School Board. He’s also a self-professed First Amendment absolutist. 

So, when Black was asked about what material should be available to Frederick County students in their school libraries, his response followed suit. 

“I don’t support book bans,” he said. 

Yet like many Maryland school board candidates, Black’s detailed views on the book issue are nuanced. In his vision for Frederick County Public Schools, any book, whether it be instructional or recreational, would be reviewed in committee and public hearings before making its way onto school shelves.

“Books which contain extreme violence or are sexually explicit, which glorify these things with no academic value, should be removed,” Black said in response to a University of Maryland Local News Network questionnaire sent to all 109 school board candidates in the state. “All books, both instructional and library resources, should be reviewed by a committee and public comment accepted before allowing them or disallowing them in the educational setting.”

Black’s support for such a process isn’t unique in his county, or Maryland at large. Asked in a Local News Network survey if they favored book bans, 38 of the 74 candidates who responded to the LNN questionnaire said they favor a policy in which professionals are involved in making sure books are age-appropriate. Another 19 strongly opposed book bans without citing policies for reviewing books.

“I will vote against book bans and the editing of curriculum based on personal beliefs,” said Sarah J. McDermott, who is running for the school board in Anne Arundel County’s District 4. “No topic should be banned from curriculum or libraries, provided that they are age appropriate, and I really trust our librarians and educators to determine that for their students.”

However, 17 candidates were open to banning books that parents find objectionable.

“I am running for the Board of Education because I would like to review our curriculum and establish age-appropriate educational materials for K-12 and eliminate any materials that sexualize children and are not appropriate for minors,” said Elena Brewer, a school board candidate from St. Mary’s County. Brewer is one of 19 candidates in the state that won an endorsement from the 1776 Project PAC,  a conservative group whose founder, Ryan James Girdusky, says on the group website that he created the PAC after objecting to books on race issues that a teacher read to his godson’s class.

A patchwork of policies

Amid parents, activists and school boards challenging books across the state, Gov. Wes Moore signed the Freedom to Read Act into law earlier this year in an attempt to put an end to book bans in Maryland public schools. 

The law prohibits public schools from excluding or removing materials from their school libraries because of the origin, background or views of the author. It also states that material cannot be removed because of partisan, ideological or religious disapproval. School systems must adopt book review policies where challenged books remain on the shelves until the review process concludes.

However, the legislation fails to affect the majority of books banned throughout the state. According to Steve Wernick, the director of curriculum and instruction for Carroll County Public Schools, the bill only mandates that counties have adequate processes in place for the removal of library content – and because Carroll County already had a committee in place that had banned books, its decisions stand.

A unanimous school board vote removed more than 60 books in Carroll County – 21 permanently. The banned titles include:

• “And They Lived,” a gay-themed young adult novel by Steven Salvatore.

• “Identical” by Ellen Hopkins, a novel about a young woman sexually abused by her father.

• “Kingdom of Ash,” “House of Earth and Blood,” and “A Court of Frost and Starlight” – popular fantasy novels by Sarah J. Maas.

Meanwhile, Wicomico County banned “All Boys Are Blue,” George M. Johnson’s  coming-of-age novel about a young queer boy. Frederick County banned Hopkins’ “Triangles,” which publisher Simon & Schuster described as a “surprisingly erotic” novel that includes adultery about three women’s intersecting friendships   

And Queen Anne’s County banned “Harbor Me,” Jacqueline Woodson’s novel about multicultural kids navigating their way through a multitude of problems, which was a New York Times Book Review’s “Kids Notables” selection for 2018.

With November’s school board elections approaching, the issue of book bans will once again appear on the ballot in the form of races between conservative candidates and their opponents. Candidates endorsed by the conservative 1776 Project PAC are running in nine Maryland counties.

The Carroll County precedent

In Maryland’s largely liberal central corridor, Carroll County has always been an outlier. Jutting southward from the Mason-Dixon line, it’s surrounded by liberal enclaves and Frederick County, a former Republican stronghold that flipped blue in the 2020 presidential election for the first time since 1964. 

As demographics shift and the Democratic party strengthens its regional claim, Carroll County remains stubbornly independent. While it isn’t uncommon to have a couple of books challenged over the course of a year, Carroll County’s 21 permanent removals drew headlines earlier this year.

One of the county’s board of education candidates, Amanda Jozkowski, said she opposes such actions.

“While there may be rare instances where a book is deemed unsuitable for the school library, these decisions should be based on clear, consistent criteria focused on educational value, not on censorship or ideological preferences,” she said in responding to the candidate questionnaire.

Jozkowski said Carroll County is a proving ground for conservative policies – especially within schools. She noted that the county has a large and active Moms for Liberty chapter that is helping chapters in other counties. Moms for Liberty, a conservative group that stresses parents’ rights, burst onto the scene in 2021 and has led the fight for book bans in many school districts.

To offer a different future for Carroll County educators and students, Jozkowski is collaborating with fellow board candidate Muri Lynn Dueppen on the Slate for Student Success, a joint candidacy that highlights the pair’s shared values and encourages voters to mark their names at the top of November’s ballot. On its website, opposition to book banning is listed as one of the pair’s core values. 

Jozkowski hopes that voters see her as an alternative to the conservative candidates she opposes. She said she believes that many Carroll County residents are tired of the “politically motivated orientation” of the current school board. 

But, in a county that hasn’t voted for a Democratic presidential candidate in 60 years, her success is far from guaranteed. Among her challengers is Kristen Zihmer, a 38-year-old small business owner who called herself a “conservative lifelong resident” of Carroll County and who, according to the Baltimore Sun, has been endorsed by Moms for Liberty.

Zihmer listed Ronald Reagan as the political figure she admired most and said: “My goal is to uphold the family and community values that make our county exceptional.” Asked about book bans, she said: “When materials are open to question, I default to parental consent…I would state unequivocally that I do not condone materials that are sexually gratuitous in nature or feature extreme sexual content.”

A debate in Howard County

In March, the Howard County chapter of Moms For Liberty laid out plans for its latest initiative: the elimination of 46 books from Howard County Public Schools’ shelves, following in Carroll County’s footsteps.

While the chapter’s measures have failed thus far, one of its founders is now running for a spot on the county’s board of education. Trent Kittleman, a former state delegate who lost re-election in 2022, requested to be taken off the Moms for Liberty rolls when she began her school board campaign, Baltimore Fishbowl reported in March.

But her views on the issue remain staunchly conservative. She decried a 2021 ban on six Dr. Seuss books with harmful stereotypes, but she remains concerned about other kinds of books.

“The misnomer ‘book banning’ being criticized these days is an effort by many parents to have certain books removed from school libraries due to what they consider explicitly sexual content,” Kittleman said in response to a Local News Network questionnaire. “It is not unreasonable to have explicitly sexual content ‘that serves no redeeming social purpose,’ removed from the schools.” 

Kittleman offers the Democratic stronghold a new vision for its public schools, one in line with the Republican values she touted during her eight years in the Maryland House of Delegates. One of her opponents, incumbent Jen Mallo, offers the opposite.

“A diverse and inclusive set of library books are critical to have in our schools,” said Mallo, who chairs the Howard County Board of Education. “We need to actively work to include these materials despite extremist fear mongering and demands for removal.”

The issue goes to court 

Montgomery County’s battle between conservative parents and school board members looks a little different than those in the rest of the state. In September, a group of parents filed a petition asking that the Supreme Court review the school board’s refusal to allow parents to opt their elementary children out of classes using LGBTQ+ books, citing a violation of their First Amendment rights.

The books are part of the district’s effort to be more inclusive by adding titles with LGBTQ characters in their kindergarten through 12th-grade curriculum. 

Brenda M. Diaz, one of the county’s school board candidates, is siding with those parents. 

Diaz, a social studies teacher at Fusion Global Academy with more than 20 years of education experience, said that since Maryland state law allows parents to request exemptions for their children from certain portions of the sex education curriculum, she would extend these same rights to parents for books their children can access. 

“Each school should be able to determine with their body of parents which books should be removed,” she said in her response to the LNN candidate questionnaire.

Yet Lynne Harris, a board member running for re-election in Montgomery County, believes public opinion shouldn’t be a factor when determining which books students can access

Harris, currently the vice president of the Montgomery County Board of Education, strongly supports the county’s LGBTQ+ curriculum.

“If families want to restrict the books their students read, they have many avenues to do that,” Harris told the Local News Network in August, “but imposing these choices and personal judgments on thousands of others is not appropriate.”

(Courtesy the Capital News Service)

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Maryland

FreeState Justice to lose more than $300K in federal funding

DOJ program funded full-time employees, services for 600 Marylanders this year

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(Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

FreeState Justice on Monday said it will lose more than $300,000 in federal funding on July 1.

The organization in a press release said the funds from the Justice Department’s Office of Justice Program supported LGBTQ survivors of crime in Maryland. FreeState Justice notes this funding “makes up almost 25 percent of the legal aid organization’s overall budget, and 60 percent of its direct service budget.”

FreeState Justice began to receive funds from the program in 2018.

“FreeState Justice is the only organization providing trauma-informed, culturally relevant legal services to LGBTQ+ Marylanders,” said FreeState Justice Executive Director Phillip Westry. “This funding cut is devastating to our community and the clients we serve, and it undermines the promise of equal justice for all.”

Westry noted the funding supported “2.5 full-time employees on our team of seven.” FreeState Justice Legal Director Lauren Pruitt added upwards of 600 people have benefitted from programs this funding supported so far this fiscal year.

“With our help, our clients report escaping violence, gaining housing, accessing documents, and reclaiming their voice,” said Pruitt. “For years, these funds have helped us to support Marylanders who have survived crimes, including about 600 people so far this fiscal year. Our services empower survivors to define and achieve safety, stability, and justice in the ways that matter most to them.”

“We are calling on the community to step up for Maryland’s LGBTQ+ survivors so that we can continue these essential services,” added Westry. “More than ever, we’ll need their support to continue getting our life-saving resources to those who need them most.”

FreeState Justice notes the Trump-Vance administration has cut $50 million “in grants and funding that support organizations that serve victims of crimes.” Westry on Monday in an email to supporters asked for their support to help fill the funding gap.

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Rockville hosts 9th annual Pride event

‘We choose to live’

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Rockville Pride took place on June 1, 2025. (Washington Blade photo by Daniela White)

Rockville hosted its 9th annual Pride celebration on Sunday.

Organizations and sponsors partnered with the city and its Human Rights Commission to bring the event to life in the Rockville Town Center Park at the Square.

“We want our community to know how safe and how protected they are and that we would support our community,” City Clerk Sara Taylor-Ferrell, who is director of council operations, said. “It’s a gathering for families and friendship; it’s just a good event for our community engagement.”

Taylor-Ferrell said the Rockville community feels safe and comfortable at the event, and she hopes the event will continue to grow bigger each year.

“I think this is going to be a great thing that we can say our legacy is with Pride,” she said.

The Rainbow Youth Alliance, the Episcopal Church of the Ascension, the Barker Adoption Foundation, Maryland Trans Unity, and other organizations gathered along the Square to spread awareness and celebrate the LGBTQ community. 

Shane Henise, program director for the Rainbow Youth Alliance, an LGBTQ support group for teens from 13- to 18-years-old, said he wanted to come out and let people know that the organization is there for the younger LGBTQ community. 

“I think this is a really hard time for queer and trans youth generally, and we want them to know they have a safe place to come,” he said. 

Henise said Pride is more important this year than ever, especially with the “attacks” on gender-affirming care for youth. 

“We want to counteract that immense amount of negativity and messages they’re receiving with positivity,” Henise said. “You are who you are. We love you, we support you.”

Speaking in front of a crowd of around 50 people, with hundreds walking around to stop and listen, Mayor Monique Ashton and other City Council members addressed the crowd and highlighted the importance of Pride. 

Montgomery County Councilmember Evan Glass said Montgomery County always leads with its heart. 

“We, the LGBTQ + community, are under threat and under attack by this president, by the Supreme Court, and while we have our challenges, there is no place I’d rather live than here in Montgomery County,” Glass said to the crowd. “We welcome our neighbors, we love them fairly and justly. We choose to love and we choose to be inclusive. That’s what pride is all about.”

With rainbow flags waving in the town square, attendees stopped by information tables, a clothing pop-up shop, face painting stations and a voter registration table.

Performers took to the stage in between speakers, such as local band the Nighthawks, members of the Rockville Musical Theater and a drag queen from drag story hour who read picture books to children in the crowd. 

There was a sense of pride and family at the event, according to Cynethia Williams, the Montgomery County chair of Free Mom Hugs. 

“There’s a sense of happiness and excitement about our future, even though it’s super scary right now in America,” Williams said. “It’s great to see that so many people are like, ‘They’re not going to take this stuff from us.’”

As a queer and Black woman, Williams said being at Rockville Pride was a revolution itself. 

“I’m a revolter from birth, (from) being in this skin, so just being here is a revolt. It’s time for us to get together and fight,” she said. “Specifically for Free Mom Hugs, we want to make sure that our presence is known, that people know that we’re here and that … there’s a group of people that are ready to cheer them on, hug them, give them love.”

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Annapolis Pride postponed due to weather

Parade and festival will not happen as scheduled, other events to take place

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Annapolis Pride postponed. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

The annual celebration of the Annapolis LGBTQ community has been put on hold due to forecasted severe weather.

The Annapolis Pride parade and festival, both of which were supposed to take place on May 31, have been postponed until a later date.

Annapolis Pride Board Chair Joe Toolan announced the decision this afternoon, citing information given to the Pride board from emergency management agencies and weather forecasting models.

“The safety of our community comes first,” Toolan said. “Based on guidance from the Annapolis Office of Emergency Management and the National Weather Service, we’ve made the difficult decision to postpone the 2025 Annapolis Pride Parade and Festival due to the very real threat of severe thunderstorms, lightning, and flooding.

“We are hoping to reschedule for some time this fall,” he added.

The National Weather Service has issued tornado and flood watches for large portions of the Mid-Atlantic area, more specifically in areas of Virginia, D.C., and Maryland — including Anne Arundel County where Annapolis is located.

The tornado watch only lasts until midnight, but the impacts of heavy downpours in the area can already be seen where the parade and festival were set to take place. The festival grounds at Bates Middle School are already experiencing flooding and over-saturation, and a flood watch remains in effect with more rain forecast for tonight and tomorrow.

“We are all sad and terribly disappointed that we cannot proceed with the parade and festival on Saturday,” Toolan said. “Hundreds of hours have been spent on planning and coordination, and we were expecting tens of thousands of attendees. But at the end of the day, safety concerns outweigh all other concerns.”

Toolan said the Pride board will announce a rescheduled date as soon as it is confirmed.

Even though the Annapolis Pride parade and festival have been postponed, there are a slew of other planned Pride events that will go on as scheduled:

May 30 – Ladies Night – SOLD OUT
6–10 p.m., Eastport Democratic Club, Annapolis

June 1 – Drag Brunch at Leo – SOLD OUT
10 a.m., Leo Annapolis Restaurant, 212 West St.

June 1 – Ecumenical Pride Worship Service
3 p.m., Eastport United Methodist Church, Annapolis

June 3 – Annapolis Pride Beer Launch
4–7 p.m., Forward Brewing, Annapolis

June 5 – Pride on the Pier
6–9 p.m., Bread and Butter Kitchen, Annapolis

June 6 – Big Gay Dance Party
10 p.m.–close, Tsunami Restaurant, 51 West St., Annapolis

June 7 – Pop-Up Market: Benefiting Annapolis Pride
10 a.m.–3 p.m., Annapolis Town Center
Special discounts @Kendra Scott 6/7–6/8

June 14 – Silent Disco
7–11 p.m., Eastport Democratic Club, Annapolis

June 21 – Teen Dance Party
6–9 p.m., Art Farm, Annapolis
For high school freshmen – juniors

*ticketed event

For more information on the postponement of Annapolis Pride, visit https://annapolispride.org/

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