According to a recent New York Times piece, the American Library Association received an “‘unprecedented’ 330 reports of book challenges” last fall, and the executive director of the National Coalition Against Censorship “has not seen this level of challenges since the 1980s.” From Tennessee to Texas, book banning continues to make headlines across the United States. Facing threats of censorship and losing diverse perspectives, parents, teachers, and librarians are all asking the question, “When books are threatened, where do we turn?”

Join us on Tuesday, March 29, from 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM (ET) for a night of virtual programming in partnership with PEN America dedicated to examining this pressing question. The evening will feature a conversation between Ibram X. Kendi (How To Be An Antiracist), Nikole Hannah-Jones (The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story), and Nic Stone (Dear Martin), moderated by Dr. Emily Knox, associate professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign School of Information Sciences. We will also hear from a few ordinary people who are finding extraordinary ways to navigate pathways of access and resistance on the ground. Continue reading →