A few years ago, challenges to the presence of some books in the student library put Nixa Public Schools in the national spotlight.
Titles like A Handmaid’s Tale and Blankets were reviewed and removed by the school board, and at least a dozen other books were challenged by parents.
In response, some Nixa students decided it was time for them to get organized and openly support the freedom to read.
Thomi Brown is one of the co-founders of Nixa SABR. “SABR” stands for “students against book restrictions.”
Thomi says two of her favorite reads are Fun Home by Alison Bechdel and The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. These books are often deemed controversial — and sometimes even restricted by school districts around the country.
Thomi graduated last year from Nixa, but Nixa SABR continues with recent grads and current students. A few years ago, a core handful of organizers got many of their peers to attend school board meetings and speak out over what they saw as problematic book bans. Then they started engaging with the wider world of civics.
Thomi says, "Kind of as the political climate continued to change, we’ve kind of adjusted with that. So we would push out voter information and we would offer endorsements for our school board candidates and in the primaries and things like that.”
Following elections in November and April, Thomi and her teammates are turning their attention to major changes prompted by the Trump administration. She says that’s why they’ve scheduled a Day of Action on Saturday afternoon at a downtown bookstore.
"We wanted to make sure that students know that they have resources and support in this area and this community," Thomi says.
The event is expected to be a drop-in-style info session for students, featuring several advocacy groups. The idea is to make sure young students know how to participate in civics and contact their representatives.
Thomi says a lot of people have asked her if they expect to change any minds in a place where politics largely trends toward strong support for President Trump.
“To that I would say we’re not necessarily trying to change people’s minds as much as we’re trying to generate that awareness and community support," Thomi says, "so that way students and other people in the area can feel like they’re not alone.”
Nixa SABR’s Day of Action is set for 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 28 at BookMarx bookstore on East Walnut Street in Springfield.
