This blog post is by Betsy Gomez, Assistant Director, ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom on behalf of the Banned Books Week Coalition, a Unite Against Book Bans partner.
The Banned Books Week Coalition is proud to announce that award-winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay has been named honorary chair for Banned Books Week 2024, which takes place September 22 – 28. DuVernay will be joined by youth honorary chair Julia Garnett, a student activist who fought book bans in her home state of Tennessee.
“I believe that censorship is the enemy of freedom,” said DuVernay, when speaking about her role as the Banned Books Week honorary chair. “By banning books, we deny ourselves the opportunity to learn from the past and to envision a braver future. Books have the power to open minds and build bridges. This is why certain forces do not want the masses to engage with books. They fear progress and growth in new, bold directions. For this reason, Banned Books Week is vitally important. It is a celebration of our right to access varied voices and to engage with ideas that challenge and champion us. I am honored to be selected as honorary chair of Banned Book Week for this election year, and I stand with my fellow readers, fellow writers and fellow advocates around the world who refuse to let voices be silenced.”
DuVernay is the groundbreaking writer, director, and producer behind acclaimed films and television projects such as Selma, 13th, Queen Sugar, and When They See Us. She is an Academy Award nominee and winner of Emmy, BAFTA, NAACP, GLAAD, Critics Choice, and Peabody Awards.
A staunch advocate for education and free expression, DuVernay directed two films inspired by frequently banned books: A Wrinkle in Time, based on the book by Madeleine L’Engle; and Origin, which centers on the life of Isabel Wilkerson, the author of Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents.
Julia Garnett, the Banned Books Week youth honorary chair, was honored for her advocacy for the freedom to read by First Lady Dr. Jill Biden during a ceremony at the White House. In addition to defending challenged books by speaking out at local school board meetings in her district, Garnett is also a leader in the National Coalition Against Censorship’s Student Advocates for Speech program, educating other students about advocacy.
DuVernay and Garnett will lead virtual programs during Banned Books Week. Details on their events will be shared on BannedBooksWeek.org as they are confirmed.
More About Banned Books Week
Since it was founded in 1982, Banned Books Week has drawn attention to attempts to remove books and other materials from libraries, schools, and bookstores. Banned Books Week 2024 follows multiple record-breaking years of censorship in libraries and schools. Attempts to censor books surged 65% in 2023 compared to 2022, reaching the highest level ever tracked by the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom.
The theme for Banned Books Week 2024 is “Freed Between the Lines,” an observance of the freedom we find in the pages of books and the need to defend that freedom from censorship.
A day of action will be observed September 28—Let Freedom Read Day—which will focus on voting, from registering to vote and understanding what’s on the ballot to making sure communities are informed about their rights. For information about ways to participate, visit bit.ly/LetFreedomReadDay.
Visit BannedBooksWeek.org for information about events, ways to participate, and promotional materials. For the latest updates, follow Banned Books Week on social media (@BannedBooksWeek on X and Facebook, @banned_books_week on Instagram).
