Vonnegut Library to donate 1,000 copies of 'Slaughterhouse-Five' to Florida schools

The Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library on Monday promised to donate over 1,000 free copies of Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse-Five” to students and teachers in a Florida school district where it says the book is currently being challenged.

The donation was promised in a written statement from Julia Whitehead, founder and CEO of the Vonnegut Library, and shared in a tweet from the library’s Twitter account Monday. The tweet named the Brevard chapter of Moms For Liberty – who have called for that book and others to come under review at Brevard Public Schools– and claims the book has already been successfully banned there.

Although “Slaughterhouse-Five” has yet to be officially banned in Brevard schools, this is not the first time Vonnegut’s book has been the subject of banning.

Related: Indiana wants more time to close achievement gaps. NAACP urges action for Black students.

“While there have been other attempts to challenge or ban Vonnegut's books and other books, this particular episode in our nation's history is especially important because the local and state-level political leadership appears to support a violation of our First Amendment rights to read freely,” Whitehead said.

Moms For Liberty is “dedicated to promoting the ideals of liberty, individual rights, limited government, and parental rights within the education system,” according to their Facebook page.

In a May 20 Facebook post, Moms of Liberty wrote this was not about banning books, and they only wanted content that "violates child obscenity laws to be removed from school libraries."

Moms For Liberty did not respond to IndyStar's request to comment.

“Slaughterhouse-Five” will be part of the curriculum for the upcoming school year, Russell Bruhn, chief strategic communications officer for Brevard Public Schools said in an email to IndyStar.

Whitehead said donating the books is more of a preemptive measure against potential book banning, which is a topic she said seems to come up every year.

Usually, when the topic of banning books in schools comes up, parents and legislators tend to target books containing profanity and other mature content, racial issues and themes of gender and sexuality.

Her novel was challenged as 'obscene.' Leah Johnson will keep telling Black, queer stories

Earlier this year, Indiana lawmakers dealt with a bill that would have criminalized teachers and librarians who allowed children to be exposed to certain books deemed obscene. The bill did not move forward to a vote.

When it comes to the topic of book banning, Whitehead said Vonnegut is often part of the conversation due to the nature of his books. “Slaughterhouse-Five” in particular details a soldier’s experience during WWII and is a commentary on Vonnegut’s experience fighting the Nazis, Whitehead said. The book contains profanity, vulgarity and humor in addition to incorporating science fiction, sex and other approaches to make the book more interesting, she said.

Whitehead said the Vonnegut Library advocates for free speech and common decency, which she said means in addition to "Slaughterhouse-Five," they advocate for all other books being banned or challenged.

“You have misunderstood the meaning of the word ‘liberty,’” Whitehead said in the written statement. “Removing someone else’s privilege of reading a book is an act that is worthy of rebellion.”

Contact IndyStar reporter Chloe McGowan at 740-739-1090 or CWilkersonMcGowan@gannett.com. Follow her Twitter: @chloe_mcgowanxx.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Vonnegut Library to donate “Slaughterhouse-Five” to Florida schools