Norman Bookstore Gives Out ‘Read Banned Books’ Merch

After a Norman High School teacher was put on administrative leave for sharing a QR code from the Brooklyn Library, the community is finding a way to get the code back in schools. 

Heather Hall owns Green Feather Book Company and has kids in Norman Public Schools. 

A conversation with fellow parents turned into a grassroots project to raise money for t-shirts and pins with the QR code. 

“I felt like the idea of a teacher being reprimanded or not being supported in the face of what seemed like a really good solution for having to cover her classroom materials, providing the QR code in the classroom, seemed like a great smart solution. It really offended all sense of what is right and wrong for a lot of us,” said Hall. 

The teacher was placed on leave before quitting after she covered books in her classroom which were no longer allowed in Oklahoma Public Schools and shared QR code for the banned books with students. 

“This wasn’t the Norman we grew up in, I was like ‘we need the QR code on students’ if students want the QR code we need to give that to them.” 

The frustration lead Hall and other parents to raise enough money to get 150 t-shirts with the QR code from the Brooklyn library. 

“When the post came out for the t-shirts, they were gone almost immediately. We’re going to need more t-shirts!” she said. 

Free pins and stickers at her bookstore holding Oklahomans over as they wait for more shirts. 

Norman Public Schools said kids are allowed to wear the t-shirts and are “free to express themselves with their clothing as long as they adhere to our district dress code and do not distract from the learning environment.” 

“It is very important to have access to challenging literature because challenging literature gives us an opportunity to have important and difficult conversations,” Hall said. 

The bookstore owner added that several people are donating to the cause. 

“If we ban all the books about trans kids, trans kid feel ultimately lonely and are not encouraged to read. If we ban all the books about gay kids, gay kids are not encouraged to read and feel very lonely. If we ban all the books about black kids, then black kids are left very lonely and with their stories untold and unheard,” she said. 

Hall said they will get another batch of t-shirts by Monday. They are free, but welcome donations to keep the project going.