Stating “Books have held a special joy for me from the time I was a child, and that’s why I am unwilling to stand by and watch while books are banned by schools,” on Monday (11.13,) P!nk announced that she’ll be handing 2,000 banned books during her four concert dates in Florida.
During an Instagram Live interview with Amanda Gorman, the youngest American inaugural poet, the three-time Grammy-winning singer confirmed her collaboration with the national free speech organization PEN America. The superstar singer/songwriter (born Alecia Beth Moore) will also work with bookseller Books & Books to distribute four books from PEN America’s Index of Banned Books, including Todd Parr’s “The Family Book,” Gorman’s “The Hill We Climb,” Toni Morrison’s “Beloved,” and Stacia Deutsch’s “Girls Who Code.”
Florida leads the country in book bans and in a study during the 2022 to 2023 school year, PEN America recorded 3,300+ book bans across the United States. Representing a 33% increase from the prior school year, 40% of all bans occur in Florida school districts, with 1,406 books off the shelf. Historically speaking, book bans most often target female authors, LGBTQ authors, and authors of color. For example, the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, backed by Florida governor and presidential candidate Ron Desantis, prohibits K-12 teachers from discussing sexuality and gender identity in schools.
“It’s especially hateful to see authorities take aim at books about race and racism and against LGBTQ authors and those of color,” said P!nk whose Florida performances include Miami (11.13,) and Sunrise (11.14,) and two shows in Orlando (11.18/11.19) where she will distribute books on Florida’s banned.
“We have made so many strides toward equality in this country and no one should want to see this progress reversed,” added P!nk!
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Author: Saul Goode
Photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/slgc https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/