Plymouth Congregational Church Supports Reading Freedom!

Here’s a story of love, a story about people of faith doing the opposite of banning books.

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This year, my picture book Love, Violet became embroiled in the Supreme Court case Mahmoud v. Taylor. Religious parents won the right to opt-out school children from lessons with 2LGBTQIA+ picutre books, including Love, Violet and eight other 2LGBTQIA+ picture books.

The petitioners based their case on religious freedom… and yet supported their arguments with mischaracterizations of our books and ugly stereotypes of 2LGBTQIA+ people. It was demoralizing.

As I’ve shared before, I identify with these religious families. I grew up with the same censorship, stereotypes and fears of people like me repeated in Mahmoud. I wrote Love, Violet to replace these misunderstandings with realistic portrayals of kids like me — because not seeing people like myself as human had caused real harm. Part of my journey involved leaving my first faith tradition. It was clear that I could not be honest about how I was made and be accepted.

This spring, I was discouraged about the censorship and cruelty circulationg through this nation, particularly aimed at minority children, and in this case, through using my own book. And often done in the name of religion.

Then a surprise pinged in my inbox. Not hate mail this time. LOVE mail.

Plymouth Congregation Church. (Brown stone church with Minneapolis skyline and blue skies in the background)

Dear friends from Plymouth Congregational Church in Minneapolis, our home church before my spouse went active duty, were checking to see how I was. That wasn’t all. In response to Mahmoud, and to support our family, they had purchased one hundred copies of Love, Violet to give away at church and in the community, including at Family Tree Clinic. They invited donations and raised over two thousand dollars! I was overwhelmed by LOVE! By people turning faith into action.

The hair on my arms is raised as I type about this outpouring of love from people of faith, believers who use their faith to seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly.

This kind of faith welcomes everyone. It’s about love.

This kind of faith restores my faith in faith.

Here is my thank-you letter to Plymouth CC, which includes the organizations we donated their gift to, in case you’d like to increase the love.

Dear Plymouth Congregational Church Family,

As we conclude Banned Books Week, I wanted to thank you for your support of our family and of reading liberty. This year, my picture book Love, Violet was named in the Supreme Court case Mahmoud v. Taylor, in which religious parents asked to remove their children from any lesson with LGBTQ+-inclusive picture books. Plymouth not only purchased one hundred copies of Love, Violet to donate, you raised over two thousand dollars as a gift for our family. This encouragement means more than we can say!

We donated your gift to the following nonprofits in your honor:

Rainbow Railroad, which helps LGBTQ+ refugees get to safety.

Thrive Youth Center, which shelters unhoused LGBTQ+ young adults in San Antonio, TX.

The Trevor Project, which provides crisis support for LGBTQ+ youth and essential research.

Lambda Legal, which provides legal support for LGBTQ+ rights and protections.

Madison Reading Project, which will donate 25 copies of Love, Violet to Wisconsin children and educators in need.

We Need Diverse Books, which works to get inclusive books to children by supporting students, educators, diverse creators, and publishing professionals. Part of your gift will support an LGBTQ+ author or illustrator and another portion purchased LGBTQ+ books for trans, nonbinary, and queer youth in communities where acceptance is low. 

We acknowledged Plymouth’s generosity with these gifts and also honored Jack Pearson, our dear departed friend and Plymouth member, who joyfully supported the rainbow community at great personal cost. His love lives on. As does yours.

Your generosity was a great comfort to Tara and me, and to my colleagues involved in Mahmoud during a very stressful time. While Mahmoud has struck a lasting blow to public education, I have happy news. The Maryland county where this case began reported that only 43 families in this district of 160,000 students filed opt-out forms: That means that 99.97% of students opted in. Several parents contacted teachers to make sure their children have access to inclusive books. This is a victory! It is also a reminder that book bans typically come from a tiny handful of loud, well-funded people. The majority of Americans across political lines oppose censorship in schools and libraries. Thank you for being part of the loud resistance! In a time when religion is too often twisted into prejudice and authoritarianism, your grace and love shine bright.

For those of you who don’t know our family, I discovered Plymouth after I came out in the Minneapolis StarTribune in 2007. I’d left a faculty position at an Evangelical college and shocked my family, full of Evangelical clergy. My friend Toni Azad suggested I might feel welcome at Plymouth. And I did! The music, prayers, and messages of justice healed me when I thought I no longer had a religious home.

Soon after, I fell in love with Tara Bauer, who was also coming out late in life, while in seminary to become a military chaplain. We had to hide our joy in public, but Plymouth was a true sanctuary. You were one of our few safe places. (I hope you forgave our 100-watt smiles and sappy handholding in those first days of new love!) Tara went on to become a Lily Resident at Plymouth. You remain her ministry partner while she serves in the military chaplain corps as one of the few out LGBTQ+ chaplains. We look forward to retiring in the Minneapolis area one day. Until then, we miss you every day!

Thank you for your part in our personal story and in our shared story of crafting a more loving, just society together.

I wish you peace and courage for whatever is before you. Keep being light, keep being hope, keep being love in a troubled world.

With deepest gratitude,

Charlotte Sullivan Wild and Chaplain, Major Tara Bauer

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We also honored Tasslyn Magnusson with these gifts, another dear friend, who has supported with her whole heart the SCOTUS Book Club (the authors and illustrators named in Mahmoud). She performs miracles by tracking bans and supporting children, educators, creators, and those organizing for reading freedom. She partners with PEN America and EveryLibrary.

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Yes: Rage, fear, and hate spread like wildfire. But so do love, inclusion, and justice! Thank you to everyone who loves and supports their neighbors every day! Especially children.

Love,
Charlotte

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Background of blue sky and white church steeple. White text: ““Books show that we are connected…. Only in mutual care can we all thrive. LGBTQ+ books like mine don’t encourage children to change their religions, their values or their orientations, but to love their neighbors as themselves.“
C.S. Wild, U.S. News & World Report, April 21, 2025“