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| Jason Reynolds | |
Bestselling author Jason Reynolds has been named the inaugural honorary chair for Banned Books Week 2021, which will take place September 26-October 2. The National Coalition Against Censorship and fellow members of the Banned Books Week Coalition noted that "Reynolds's career reflects the Banned Books Week theme of 'Books Unite Us. Censorship Divides Us.' He is a tireless advocate for storytelling and young readers."
Reynolds's books All American Boys (with Brendan Kiely) and Stamped (with Ibram X. Kendi) are among the American Library Association's Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2020, an annual list released during National Library Week. Several state legislatures are currently considering laws that would prohibit teaching related to antiracism and social justice, further reducing the availability of books by Reynolds and other authors addressing these issues.
"I'm excited about being the inaugural honorary chair for Banned Books Week," said Reynolds. "More importantly, I'm excited about this year's theme, which is so simple, yet so powerful. What does it mean when we say, 'Books Unite Us'? It means that books are the tethers that connect us culturally. Stories ground us in our humanity; they convince us that we're not actually that different and that the things that are actually different about us should be celebrated because they are what make up this tapestry of life."
He added: "To censor a book is to damage the framework in which we live. Any time we eliminate or wall off certain narratives, we are not getting a whole picture of the world in which we live. And navigating the world in a way that is closed-off, closed-minded, is poisonous. It means that we limit our vocabulary, which complicates how we communicate with one another. We have to celebrate stories and ensure that all books have a space on the shelves and the opportunity to live in the psyches of our children, as they grow into the human beings who will inherit this wonderful place."