Tip O'Neill Was Right: The power of local politics

“All politics is local” is a phrase coined by Tip O’Neill, the 47th Speaker of the House, and then expanded on by President Biden who wrote, “all politics is personal.” A growing number of states and local municipalities have worked locally and personally to wage a war against the freedom to read, removing books from shelves, whitewashing history, criminalizing making certain titles available, and codifying censorship. This article offers theoretical underpinnings supporting the library as the fifth branch of government, an overview of the quick and aggressive rise in book banning over the past decade, and practical ways we might use the lessons we’ve learned from our opponents to win back the freedom to read while elevating the critical nature of the library.