On Saturday, the final day of Banned Books Week 2023, Teen Vogue gathered some of the most inspiring authors, academics, and teen leaders to talk about the importance of access to literature. The event, in collaboration with the Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) at their Brooklyn Heights location, was free and geared toward young people with a passion for reading. What transpired was a day filled with inspiration, hard facts about banned book legislation, and dynamic storytelling.
“Books were essential to shaping who I was growing up and who I am today — it’s a major reason why I decided to pursue writing, editing, and journalism as a career,” Versha Sharma, Teen Vogue's editor-in-chief told the audience in her opening speech. “I grew up in central Louisiana, a child of two cultures, Indian and American, and often felt the need to escape somewhere safe for a little while - and I knew I could always count on the local library and books.”
“The American Library Association documented challenges to nearly 2,000 books in the first 8 months of this year, a 20% increase from the previous year. And last year set a record for the highest number of book challenges since ALA began compiling this data more than 20 years ago," she added. "Unsurprisingly, most challenges were to books written by or about a person of color or a member of the LGBTQ+ community. I’m thrilled to say you will be hearing from several people of color and members of the LGBTQ+ community today who are authors themselves.”
The event commenced with a fireside chat between Horse Barbie author, model, and Emmy-nominated producer Geena Rocero and them's editor-in-chief Sarah Burke. Panels throughout the day included Mattie Kahn (Young and Restless: The Girls Who Sparked America's Revolutions), Maulik Pancholy (Nikhil Out Loud), and Briona Simone Jones (Mouths of Rain: An Anthology of Black Lesbian Thought) who talked about their literary inspiration and how their books have been received in educational institutions.
In the second panel Emmy-award-winning NBC News journalist Antonia Hylton (Madness: Race and Insanity in a Jim Crow Asylum), Gina Chung (Sea Change), and Delia Cai (Central Places) talked about how identity shows up in their work and the importance of highlighting lived experiences of people of color in their works. Hylton's book, about a Jim Crow asylum built by Black Americans in 1911 who were subsequently imprisoned there, challenges the rhetoric around learning about America's dark history of segregation in public school settings — often tied to Critical Race Theory opposition.
Following the authors' conversations, attendees heard from intellectual freedom advocates Tara Isabel Lago, Alina Burago, and Daiana Azimova who were specially selected by the BPL for their work to encourage other young people to fight for access to information and books.
Across the country, books are being pulled from school libraries and local establishments. This directly impacts the educational freedom young people are allowed to access. Banned Books Week 2023 was a chance to explore the importance of perspective.
Speaker Tara Isabel Lago shared how books can serve as windows and mirrors. “Mirrors” she used metaphorically can reflect ourselves through written representation and “windows” give others a chance to look inside other people's worlds. It's a necessary aspect we cannot afford to lose. Books serve as an infinite realm to see and be seen — a theme of the entire event.
Refreshments were provided by Explorer Cold Brew and Cedar’s Original Hummus via Autumn Communications. And books were generously gifted by The New Press.
