And Tango Makes Three Should Return to the Shelf in Escambia County, ACLU Argues
The picture book about the true story of two male penguins raising a chick together is once again the target of unjustifiable censorship
ATLANTA – The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Florida filed an amicus brief in Parnell v. School Board of Escambia County today, arguing that the First Amendment prevents the government from removing books from school libraries for ideological reasons.
And Tango Makes Three, written by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson and illustrated by Henry Cole, was removed from schools in Escambia County, Florida in 2023 because of its depiction of two male penguins raising a chick together. The book, based on real penguins at the Central Park Zoo, has won multiple literary awards and is widely beloved by parents and educators. Parnell and Richardson filed suit in 2023 alongside a student in Escambia County schools, arguing that the book’s removal violated the First Amendment.
“Removing a book from the library explicitly because of its perceived ideological leanings is antithetical to the First Amendment,” said Emerson Sykes, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. “The pedagogical value of And Tango Makes Three has never been questioned by the school board, and similar books with heterosexual penguins remain on the shelf. The government has no business deciding which types of penguins, books, or relationships we can read about.”
In response to the lawsuit, Escambia County attempted to advance the argument that books in school libraries are government speech and therefore exempt from First Amendment protections. In October, a federal judge in the Northern District of Florida sidestepped the government speech argument but nevertheless ruled in Escambia County’s favor, saying school libraries are not a public forum and therefore the First Amendment does not apply.
“Students deserve to see families that look like theirs reflected in the books they read, and to have the opportunity to read about people (and penguins) that differ from themselves,” said Shana Knizhnik, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project. “This case is about more than one picture book: it’s about whether the government can control what we write, what we read, and what we share with one another. Students in Escambia County have every right to check out And Tango Makes Three or any other book they want without fear that the government will take it off the shelf for political reasons.”
Plaintiffs filed an appeal with the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in October. The ACLU’s amicus brief outlines why the government speech doctrine does not apply to library catalog curation and that the First Amendment applies to library book removals.
The ACLU’s amicus brief can be read here.
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