This is Banned Books Week – an event organized by the American Library Association to remind people they have a right to read. Here in Virginia, the American Civil Liberties Union is urging bookstores to celebrate.
Claire Gastenaga is on the road this week, visiting independent book shops and schools. As head of this state’s ACLU, she wants to make sure Virginians know they have a constitutional right to books that have sometimes been banned by local libraries or boards of education.
“Handmaid’s Tale is one of my favorites," she says. "Then there is a book called And Tango Makes Three about same sex penguins that have a baby that was banned in Loudon County. I think it was Culpeper that once banned the Diary of Ann Frank, Toni Morrison’s Beloved..”
Courts overturned those bans, but the ACLU remains on guard – ready to do battle against future cases of censorship.
“Sometimes we have to write a letter to a school division," Gastenaga says. " Sometimes we have to do a little bit more than write a letter, but generally people understand that these are situations and activities that the government shouldn’t be engaging in, and they back away from doing unconstitutional things.”
She’ll speak tonight (September 25) in Abingdon. Other events are planned in Martinsville, Alexandria, Arlington and Virginia Beach later this week. For more information, follow these links:
Abingdon:
https://acluva.org/en/events/aclu-va-member-forum-abingdon
Alexandria:
https://acluva.org/en/events/banned-books-week-celebration-hooray-books-alexandria
Martinsville:
https://acluva.org/en/events/aclu-va-member-forum-martinsville
Arlington:
https://acluva.org/en/events/banned-books-week-celebration-one-more-page-books-arlington
Virginia Beach:
https://acluva.org/en/events/banned-books-week-celebration-afk-books-records-virginia-beach
