BANNED BOOK WEEK is an annual celebration of the freedom to read. Unfortunately, the coordinated movement to ban books in schools is growing at a rapidly accelerating pace. The new #BannedInTheUSA report from free expression group @PENAmerica shows that nearly 140 school districts issued more than 2,500 book bans in the last school year alone – 1,000 more since their original report in April. The rising wave of book bans undermines our freedom to read and learn, and it’s especially harmful to young people from historically marginalized backgrounds. Overwhelmingly, books targeted for removal highlight issues of race and racism, feature LGBTQ+ characters and protagonists, or deal with sex education. Access to diverse stories can help validate marginalized students’ own life experiences. These stories also help students learn about perspectives and ideas that may be different from their own. By removing these narratives from school shelves, book ban advocates are drastically limiting learning opportunities in classrooms and attacking free expression. Join me in the call to STOP banning books that help us build a better society for the future. Support the authors of banned books, write to your legislators and your school districts, and if you have time please read PEN America's reporting. Also! Please share this graphic if you feel so inclined! #FreeTheBooks #StopBannedBooks #BannedBookWeek #PENAmerica @penamerica