We Own This Town

Take a Look, They’re Banning Books


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1982 was quite a year for books, censorship, and the freedom to read. That year, the Supreme Court heard Board of Ed v. Pico, Banned Books Week was founded, and Reading Rainbow was in development. In this episode, Blake and Kashif examine the state of books bans in the US. Kashif unpacks activist librarianship and the symbolic firing of Carla Hayden. Blake explores Reading Rainbow in light of the Butterfly in the Sky documentary. The boys talk their shared love of reading and how the show fostered imagination. They share their favorite children’s books.

Banned Books Week Data
Judith Krug | Carla Hayden | Virginia Lacy Jones | EJ Josey
Report Censorship to the American Library Association
Board of Education, Island Trees Union Free School District No. 26 v. Pico
Mychal Threets | LeVar Burton
Reading Rainbow Docu: Butterfly in the Sky
Follow the Drinking Gourd by Jeanette Winter
Rainbow Goblins by Ul de Rico


About the show:
A culture podcast by two insufferable queer introverts in the South who really need to know who’s gonna be there before they commit to anything.

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We Own This TownBy We Own This Town