John,

This past week the National Education Association celebrated Banned Books Week as a reminder that the fight for truth, memory, and freedom is far from over.

Banned Books Week began in 1982, after a surge of attempts to silence authors and ideas. Over 40 years later, the attacks have only grown louder and more frequent. During the 2024–2025 school year alone, PEN America recorded 6,870 instances of book bans, targeting nearly 4,000 unique titles, many of them written by Black and queer authors.

For the third straight year, Florida, Texas, and Tennessee led the nation in book bans. But the real story is what’s behind those numbers.

Censorship isn’t about protecting children. It’s about protecting power.

Across the country, extremists are erasing stories that speak our truth. They are attempting to erase Black stories, queer stories, stories that dare to say that Black folks built this nation and we belong here. They are scrubbing the record clean to comfort those who cannot bear to see the full reflection of America.

When they ban Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Zora Neale Hurston, or James Baldwin, they aren’t just banning books. They’re attacking culture, history, and the very idea of a free mind.

That’s why Color Of Change is defending our nation’s cultural institutions, libraries, and museums from the whitewashing of history and the corporate donors funding it. We’re demanding that institutions protect Black art, truth, and legacy with the same urgency that we defend democracy itself.

Already, over 4,000 Color Of Change members have added their names to this movement. Together, we’re showing that our culture isn’t disposable, our history isn’t optional, and our stories will not be erased.

Add your voice. Stand with the 4,000 who refuse to let censorship define our future, our democracy, and our stories.

Because this isn’t just about what’s on a bookshelf, it’s about who gets to define America.

Until Justice Is Real,
Color Of Change

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