LeVar Burton Will Chair Banned Books Week
Image: American Library Association / Unsplash
SEPTEMBER 25, 2023 – The American Library Association (ALA) has been tracking attempts to restrict access to books and other materials for over twenty years. The number of these attempts recently is unprecedented; last year alone there were 1,269 documented demands to censor library books and resources, representing a record 2,571 unique titles that were targeted for censorship. Of those titles, the vast majority were written by or about members of the LGBTQIA+ community or by and about Black people, Indigenous people, and people of color.
In order to focus attention on the freedom to seek and express ideas, the annual Banned Books Week is back next week and will bear a Star Trek countenance.
Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Geordi La Forge and literacy advocate, LeVar Burton, will be this year’s honorary chair of Banned Books Week and is the first actor to serve in that role. Burton has inspired generations of readers with his PBS series Reading Rainbow, his podcast LeVar Burton Reads, and his recently executive-produced documentary The Right to Read.
Burton reflected on Banned Books Week and the freedom to read by saying, “Books bring us together. They teach us about the world and each other. The ability to read and access books is a fundamental right and a necessity for life-long success. But books are under attack. They’re being removed from libraries and schools. Shelves have been emptied because of a small number of people and their misguided efforts toward censorship. Public advocacy campaigns like Banned Books Week are essential to helping people understand the scope of book censorship and what they can do to fight it. I’m honored to lead Banned Books Week 2023.”
Burton will be hosting an Instagram livestream on October 4 with Banned Books Week Youth Honorary Chair Da’Taeveyon Daniels about censorship and advocacy.
Banned Books Week runs all next week, October 1-7. For more information, head over to Banned Books Week.
David is a contributing writer for Daily Star Trek News on the Roddenberry Podcast Network. He is a librarian, baseball fan, and book and movie buff. He has also written for American Libraries and Skeptical Inquirer. David also enjoys diverse music, but leans toward classical and jazz. He plays a mean radio.
