The Democrats Abroad Global Veterans and Military Families (VMF) Caucus strongly supports the “Uncensor My Summer” campaign, a bold initiative spearheaded by Military Families for Free Expression and VMF’s Libby Jamison – a Washington UOCAVA voter residing in Morocco, and a military family member.
Uncensor My Summer isn’t just another advocacy item, it’s a peaceful and impactful way to take a meaningful protest against this Administration’s misguided policy of banning books in schools and libraries, especially those in Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools – the very same institutions of learning for the kids of our incredible service members stationed throughout the U.S. and around the world. Many of these books are by minority authors, many pertain to topics of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and others cover important historical topics such as civil rights struggles.
And so, for this summer, VMF encourages both military kids and non-military-connected kids alike to not just simply join a reading challenge but rather take a stand and challenge the system. How so?
Second Lady Usha Vance wants you to read this summer. She’s launched a nationwide Summer Reading Challenge, encouraging families, including military families, to cozy up with books and build a love of learning. And like Military Families for Free Expression, VMF loves books too. But there’s a real problem with the Second Lady’s challenge.
While the White House promotes reading in public, military kids are being outright denied access to books that reflect diverse perspectives, important lived experiences, and critical social issues. Titles by authors that challenge the status quo are being banned or challenged on military bases across the globe. And it’s not just on base. These bans are happening in our communities around military bases too. All of this has a negative impact on military kids, who have a right protected by their parents in uniform to explore a wide range of resources as they grow into informed citizens.
This is not okay, and we refuse to normalize the censorship of books for military kids so that they’re only exposed to the reading materials “approved” by Donald Trump, J.D. Vance, and Pete Hegseth.
So for the next few weeks, VMF stands with Military Families for Free Expression and we are taking the White House’s Summer Reading Challenge and flipping it on its head.
What can you do? Here’s how to join the UnOfficial Summer Reading Challenge:
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Check Out Banned or Challenged Books: Here’s a list of suggested titles pulled from DoDEA and local district complaints that you can check out from your local library or buy online.
- Read with Purpose: Talk with your kids about why the books matter. Discuss the themes, the characters, and why someone might want to keep them off the shelves.
- Submit the Reading Log: Once your child has finished 12 books (they don’t all have to be from the banned list), submit the reading log by September 5th to [email protected].
- Share Your Story with VMF and/or Military Families for Free Expression: Post your book selections, favorite stories, or reflections using #ReadBannedBooks, #UncensorMySummer, or #RedWhiteandBanned. And let’s see those reading logs too!
Click here to see an example of a social media post.
U.S. citizens living abroad, both civilian and military, are highly encouraged to check your voter registration status and request your ballot for any upcoming elections in your home voting state that you are eligible to vote in.
The VMF Caucus, proudly consisting of veterans, military family members, DoD civilians, and strong allies of veterans and military family causes, has a membership of approximately 1,400 members located in dozens of countries.
For questions pertaining to this statement, please reach out to