ABOUT US
ADVOCATES FOR OUR COMMUNITY
We stand with all marginalized citizens and defend everyone's right to access books and materials from our public institutions. Not everyone will agree with every book in the library, and that's ok, cher. Just pick something else.
We are a group of ordinary citizens fighting for the very soul of our public library system. Winner of the 2020 James Modisette award for best library in Louisiana, the Lafayette Public Library has since that time come under a systematic, sustained attack by its own Board of Control. Beginning in January 2021, when the board rejected a grant from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities for a series of programs on the history of Voting Rights, and continuing on through closed-door book challenges and the changing of procedures to guarantee those challenges succeed, we have fought to defend free speech, intellectual freedom, and the free exchange of ideas here in Acadiana.
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
We believe that freedom of speech, expression, and information are the cornerstones of our Republic. To that end, Lafayette Citizens Against Censorship was formed to protect our community from those who would attempt to restrict or ban books or other materials, or control access to information in our public and school libraries. We provide resources and support for anyone seeking to fight back against such efforts. We stand with all marginalized citizens and defend everyone's right to access books and materials from our public institutions. In addition, we oppose any policies which attempt to infringe upon our citizens’ First Amendment rights.
We fully support our professional librarians and library staff, who serve the needs of ALL members of our community every day. We trust their collection development decisions, and understand that it is not the business of individuals to limit access for the rest of the community.