Banned Books Week 2022

Grateful to my colleagues in Widener University's Wolfgram Memorial Library and Prof. Dana Reisboard for inviting me to speak on a panel about the dangers of banning books. Here's more about the event:

Lawmakers and parent groups are working to ban books that discuss historical times/events and personal lived experiences related to Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer/Questioning (LGBTQ) community, and other marginalized groups from classrooms and libraries. Simultaneously, protections from prosecution that teachers and librarians have had are being removed. Book bans stand in opposition to the main function of education, which is to teach students to think critically and to develop their own views about the world. It is natural for books to evoke strong emotions from readers, even distasteful ones, however, it is wrong to use these feelings to restrict the right to learn for all students.  Weaponizing and politicizing books with diverse content about diverse groups restricts all students from seeing and understanding the lived experiences and worldviews of people different from themselves, stunting their education.  John Culhane, Widener University, Jessica Guzman, Widener University, Trace Reed, Montgomery County District Librarian, and Sharon Ward, Education Law Center Senior Policy Advisor will discuss the danger censorship poses to students and society. 

Join us this Monday at 12:00 PM EST for "You Can't Read This: The True Dangers of Book Bans."