Essential Reads: 6 Books to Dive Deeper into the Anti-Trans Hate Machine Investigation
This season of the Anti-Trans Hate Machine, our producers dove deep into the mechanisms of public education and its funding in an effort to unearth the anti-trans forces trying to dismantle it. Over the course of the investigation, we discovered that the far-right has been weaponizing the concerns of so-called parental rights groups to sow distrust in public schools and privatize them.
We’re sharing some of the books that our team found most helpful for our research. They cover a wide number of issues, including overviews of the groups behind the backlash, the history of privatization, and accounts of normal folks trying to push back against authoritarianism.
They Came for the Schools
By Mike Hixenbaugh
Journalist Mike Hixenbaugh tells the story of Southlake Texas, where a viral video of white high school students shouting racial slurs illuminated the deep divides that existed in the suburban community. A resurgent parental rights movement would go on to seize upon those divides and help inspire far-right activists across the country.
This book is for people looking for a well-written narrative providing more examples of how the far-right movement weaponized the spectre of so-called “critical race theory” and pivoted into a focus on trans kids.
School Moms
By Laura Pappano
Moms for Liberty and the larger so-called parental rights movement is the leading force fighting against LGBTQ inclusion in schools. In School Moms, journalist Laura Pappano attends parental rights events in an attempt to shine a light on this part of the far-right movement, including the Moms for Liberty Summit in 2022.
This book is great for listeners who want to hear first-hand accounts of how conservative parents groups organized, and how they have been weaponized by more powerful figures on the far-right.
The Privateers
By Josh Cowen
What is the end result of anti-trans attacks on schools? That’s the question education researcher Josh Cowen asks as he lays out how the conservative privatization movement has everything to gain from the increasing erosion of trust in public schools.
Cowen’s book was an essential source in researching the issue of school vouchers. We recommend The Privateers for anyone curious about the origins of the school privatization movement, and how the far-right has managed to funnel increasing amounts of public money to private schools.
Overturning Brown
By Steve Suitts
Historian Steven Suitts examines the history of the backlash against public school integration, and how it has led to the current attempt to privatize education today. In the 50s and 60s, white-only private schools received public money in an attempt to circumvent integration. Today, private schools that receive public funding are touted as the solution for parents who want to make sure their children have an “anti-woke” education.
This account of civil rights era history is essential to understanding how the current backlash against inclusive public education is not new. It is simply the most recent fight in a long battle over democracy.
Shadow Network
By Anne Nelson
The Council For National Policy is the secret group pulling the strings of the conservative movement that most people have never heard of. Investigative Journalist Anne Nelson breaks down the complex web of relationships that make up the CNP and the network of far-right organizers responsible for the successes of Christian Nationalism. And as it turns out, their efforts are central to the attempt to privatize schools.
Nelson has been an essential source throughout the production of the Anti-Trans Hate Machine, and we can’t recommend her book enough when it comes to understanding how the most powerful players on the far-right operate.
Slaying Goliath
By Diane Ravitch
Even while the public education system is under attack, there are advocates leading the charge to protect this essential public good in our democracy. Through the accounts of communities in Colorado, Arizona, Massachusetts, and in numerous others across the United States, education professor Diane Ravitch demonstrates that resistance is possible.
We recommend this book for folks looking for more examples of how to resist the growing authoritarian movement targeting public schools. It also provided our team with a deep insight into the flaws of school reform movements that seek to make money off schools in the name of innovation.
The Anti-Trans Hate Machine
Right wing forces have taken aim at trans kids in schools, relentlessly targeting some of our country’s most vulnerable youth. In this season, journalist and host Imara Jones investigates this movement, uncovering how these attacks are part of a larger plan to dismantle public education and shatter democracy itself.
