Book banning is sweeping parts of America. These celebrities want you to help stop it
April is National School Library Month but, unfortunately, some of the books in school libraries have never been under greater threat in parts of America than they are today.
Republican legislators in states including Florida, Arizona, Iowa, Texas, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Oklahoma have passed—or are currently trying to pass—laws banning certain books in schools. That’s why today the CAA Foundation and Campaign for Our Shared Future are teaming up with celebrities to launch the Let America Read campaign.
Let America Read is fronted by celebrities including Julia Roberts, Julianna Margulies, Selma Blair, and others; it aims to help spread the word that these book bans are happening in a country that counts free speech as a core value, and urges book lovers to help fight this growing threat.
According to the American Library Association, book bans in schools and public libraries hit an all-time high last year since the organization began compiling data two decades ago; 2,571 books were targeted for some kind of censorship—up from 1,858 titles in 2021. Among the states that have proposed more bans, titles that are currently in the crosshairs include Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, Toni Morrison’s Beloved, and The Diary of Anne Frank.
Announcing the Let America Read campaign, Emmy Award-winning actress Julianna Margulies said, “History is clear: Good ideas are strengthened through contest, as governments are through debate. Since time immemorial, book banning has been the refuge of leaders who fear that their arguments and writs cannot withstand scrutiny. Its violence is born of weakness. And we are not a weak people—fighting book bans is an act of patriotism and a show of strength.”
The campaign has set up a website at LetAmericaRead.org, asking people to select a book from PEN America’s banned book list and to post a video of why the book is meaningful to them on social media along with the tags @LetAmericaRead and #LetAmericaRead.
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