So over at the Independent Book Publishers Association, we’re having our annual IBPA Publishing University conference this month in Orlando, Florida. We’d actually planned to be in Orlando for the conference back in 2020, but had to cancel due to the pandemic. 2021 was an all-virtual conference, and for this year’s two-part conference (virtual + in-person) we’re doing the in-person days in Orlando.

But, two new laws have just happened in Florida that really impact the LGBTQIA2+ community as well as communities of color.

In the past, sponsors and sports teams and corporations protesting anti-trans laws have defeated such laws when it’s made clear to the lawmakers that prejudice is hurting their pockets. The corporate and sports backlash in 2016 to North Carolina’s “bathroom bill” that targeted trans people to prevent them from using public bathrooms that corresponded to their gender identity cost that state nearly $400 million and ultimately created so much public pressure and backlash that the law did not stand.

With these Florida bills becoming law, most corporations have been silent (notably Disney, among them.) And while our nonprofit of over 4,000 independent publishers isn’t able to pull the conference out of Florida in protest (nor would that have much effect on the ground), I felt it was really important for us to make a statement. The DEI Committee and the full board of directors agreed, and the statement was posted on March 28, 2022.

Response from conference registrants has been very supportive. From the general membership, it’s been more mixed. Much of the confusion and protest centers on not having read the IBPA statement, and mis-stating the issue as having nothing to do with DEI and saying the law is simply a way to prevent teachers from teaching “sexual education” to kindergarteners. While it’s not cool for me as a member of IBPA’s staff to respond to the article comments on the IBPA website, this is my space, and I share this here:

With respect, discussing the existence of LGBTQIA2+ people is no more “sexual education” than discussing the existence of hetero, cis people. No one is advocating “sexual education” to children – but letting them know that some men can fall in love with men, some women can fall in love with women, some people can fall in love with other people regardless of their gender, and some people can and do live outside our culture’s rigid gender binary is Inclusive of our Queer lives and loves. This is age-appropriate for the youngest child (hey, some of them – and.or their peers have two moms or two dads!) This is absolutely a DEI issue, and I applaud this IBPA statement.

The other law, preventing teachers from covering (or even mentioning) the non-white perspective on race and systemic racism, is also terrible.

I’ll be getting buttons printed up for conference attendees to voice opposition to those laws on their conference lanyard if they choose, and we’ll be sharing information from ACLU Florida and the Zebra Coalition to help.

Overall, I’m really proud of the IBPA leadership and volunteer community who rallied to stand up against these laws and let our community know we are a welcoming community for those who have traditionally been left out of publishing’s power. We don’t just talk DEI, we aim to embody it.

Thanks for reading.
The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you,
Lee