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In the 2022 to 2023 school year, 3,362 individual book bans went into effect across 1,557 unique titles. This is an increase over last year’s totals, and Florida is leading the book-banning charge. The banned titles include a children’s book about Anne Hutchinson, one of the first Rhode Islanders and a female preacher put on trial by puritans, Beloved by Toni Morrison, and The Family Book by Todd Parr. While some bans might seem senseless, others evince a barely disguised desire to target books affirming LGBTQ identities or addressing racism and racist history. Now, the pop star Pink (aka P!nk) is putting her megawatt star power to work to fight such censorship and stand up for the voices behind these books. Pink announced, in collaboration with PEN America, that she would donate 2,000 banned books at her Florida concerts.
Pink played in Miami and Sunrise Florida this past week. Her team planned to distribute titles such as Amanda Gorman‘s The Hill We Climb and Girls Who Code by Reshma Saujani, among other titles. Pink proudly calls herself a longtime reader, denouncing the book bans in an Instagram video: “It’s confusing, it’s infuriating, it is censorship.” Pink acknowledged to PEN America that being a parent to her two children influences her perspective on the importance of “representation for all races and sexual identities.”
“Books have held a special joy for me from the time I was a child, and that’s why I am unwilling to stand by and watch while books are banned by schools,” Pink said in a statement. “It’s especially hateful to see authorities take aim at books about race and racism and against LGBTQ authors and those of color. We have made so many strides toward equality in this country and no one should want to see this progress reversed. This is why I am supporting PEN America in its work and why I agree with them: no more banned books.” Beyond gifting literature, Pink remains committed to the fight against book bans. To learn how you can help too, visit https://pen.org/pink-against-book-bans.
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h/t: [NPR]
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