A Statement on the Supreme Court Decision in Mahmoud v Taylor

Ellen Hopkins is the award-winning author of 20 nonfiction books for children and 15 New York Times best-selling young adult novels-in-verse, 2 middle grade novels, plus 4 novels for adult readers. She is also a longtime member of the SCBWI Advisory Council and member of the SCBWI Anti-Censorship Committee.

As the premier organization of children’s book creators, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators stands in strong opposition to the 6-3 Supreme Court decision in Mahmoud v Taylor. The kidlit community, like all communities, is made more vibrant and compassionate because of our diversity. Every child deserves not only representation but understanding, and the ability to read about people unlike themselves. Framing discrimination and exclusion as a matter of personal belief is not just a slippery slope. It’s a melting glacier because, while LGBTQ+ content is at the heart of this decision, it opens the door to wider censorship within our public schools.

As Justice Sotomayor wrote in her dissent, the decision “guts our free exercise precedent and strikes at the core premise of public schools: that children may come together to learn not the teachings of a particular faith, but a range of concepts and views that reflect our entire society. Exposure to new ideas has always been a vital part of that project, until now. The reverberations of the Court’s error will be felt, I fear, for generations.” Children’s books do, and must, represent our entire society. 

SCBWI steadfastly supports LGBTQ+ authors, illustrators, and literature; inclusive classrooms; and the teachers and librarians who foster them. We believe books open windows, and minds, to the richly varied world beyond our doorsteps, and serve as guideposts when life becomes confusing. Shuttering those windows, closing minds, will not create a healthier society or stronger human race. But knowledge and empathy can. SCBWI will always defend every child’s Right to Read.