What if you attended your local small town public library board meeting to speak out against book censorship and soon found your reputation smeared by people from an entirely different county with lurid and untrue allegations that go viral, alleging that you advocate teaching anal sex to 11 year olds?

That’s what happened in July of 2022 to award winning Middle School librarian, Amanda Jones, which she writes about in her forthcoming book, THAT LIBRARIAN: THE FIGHT AGAINST BOOK BANNING IN AMERICA. Among her many awards are the 2021 School Librarian of the Year and the 2023 American Association of School Librarians’ Intellectual Freedom Award, as well as the American Library Association’s Paul Howard Award for Courage.

The group who singled her out of the thirty or so other people who spoke against book censorship at that Livingston Parish public library meeting, is Citizens for a New Louisiana, whose leader is Michael Lunsford. His confederate, Ryan Thames, operates the Facebook page, “Bayou State of Mind,” which posted mean, fallacious memes about her repeatedly, so she sued them for defamation of character.

We spoke with Amanda Jones on July 5, 2024 via Skype, but before we share our conversation, we begin with what she actually said on July 22, 2022, that made her the focus of the ire of reactionary, Christian Nationalist agitators.

Articles pertinent to this interview:

Librarian Fired in Books Dispute to Receive $700,000 Settlement https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/09/us/wyoming-library-settlement-book-bans-terri-lesley.html

2021 School Librarian of the Year Amanda Jones Keeps Fighting, Files Appeal of Court Decision http://2021 School Librarian of the Year Amanda Jones Keeps Fighting, Files Appeal of Court Decision

Georgia lawsuit challenges anti-LGBTQ+ book bans over ‘real harms’ https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/03/georgia-lawsuit-book-bans

Arkansas Law Criminalizing Librarians Ruled Unconstitutional https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ap-us-book-ban-librarians_n_6769ee23e4b04743daf033a9

Florida 7-year-old compelled to testify in book ban lawsuit https://www.politico.com/news/2024/07/23/florida-book-ban-child-testify-00170618

What Was the First Banned Book in History? https://getpocket.com/explore/item/what-was-the-first-banned-book-in-history?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us

Trump and Project 2025 are attacking the Department of Education. How might they reshape US schools? https://www.theguardian.com/education/article/2024/jul/04/trump-project-2025-heritage-foundation-education-department

How a Patriotic Painting Became the Internet’s Soap Box https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/03/style/norman-rockwell-freedom-of-speech-meme.html

Your Religious Values Are Not American Values https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/04/opinion/christian-nationalist-religion-america.html

Oklahoma’s State Superintendent Requires Public Schools to Teach the Bible https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/27/us/oklahoma-public-schools-bible.html

Young girl faints as Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signs controversial Ten Commandments bill https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_XBSWQwyMQ

Louisiana now requires the 10 Commandments to be displayed in classrooms. It’s not the only terrifying state law https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/commandments-louisiana-laws-religion-republicans-b2572077.html

Featured image of Amanda Jones above: Emily Kask/NBC News