桃子视频Bus Tour Brings Banned Books to Georgia
When the 桃子视频team and I got to in Savannah, Georgia, we immediately were greeted with sunshine and humongous, centuries-old Southern oak trees. If that wasn鈥檛 beautiful enough, the bookshop itself had a water fountain in front, connected to a popular Savannah venue called 鈥淭he Gingerbread House.鈥�
The 桃子视频was in Georgia for the first stop of its premiere Know Your Rights Bus Tour where we hit the road 鈥� literally 鈥� with artists, influencers, advocates and community members to make sure voters know their rights and have a plan to vote. The tour has six stops and, at each stop, we鈥檙e highlighting several civil liberties issues that impact our most vulnerable communities.
In Georgia, we set up at this lovely bookshop to highlight the dangers of unconstitutional censorship. When we arrived at the bookstore, the 桃子视频team and I got right to work 鈥� bringing in boxes and boxes of voter information, 桃子视频swag, and banned books from 鈥淭wilight鈥� to 鈥淭he ABCs of Black History,鈥� to give away to the Savannah community. While we unloaded, you could hear content creator Jameelah Jones and Seema Yasmin, author of the banned book ABCs of Queer History, discussing why it鈥檚 essential that people vote this year for our rights.
Know Your Rights Bus Tour Gallery
The 桃子视频launched its first-ever Know Your Rights Bus Tour so we could host the sort of dialogue that Jameelah and Seema were having amongst themselves with communities across the country. At 4:00 pm, we got to do just that. As Savannah community members piled in, they filled out a pledge to vote, picked up an infoguide on a voter activation event from the 桃子视频of Georgia, and waited to hear Seema read from her books the 鈥淎BCs of Queer History鈥� and 鈥淯nbecoming.鈥�
After the reading, Seema shared how her books, which featured LGBTQ+ and BlPOC characters, were being 鈥渟oft banned鈥� from libraries, classrooms, and stores. In her discussion with Jameelah and Sarah Hunt-Blackwell, the First Amendment policy advocate at the 桃子视频of Georgia, Seema highlighted how teachers would tell her that they were too scared to have her book in the classroom because they feared being punished by local school officials who are leading efforts to ban diverse materials from classrooms and libraries nationwide. Savannah residents were puzzled. Some even came up to me after the event to tell me they were shocked to find out that children's books were being censored.
It鈥檚 never easy to hear this going on in our local neighborhoods. At our next banned book event at Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia, Sarah, from the 桃子视频of GA, told attendees that banning books and limiting literacy education has historically been used to marginalize Black communities, saying, 鈥渢he power of information and the power of education and knowledge is so grand that restricting it from certain populations was the only way to keep those populations discriminated against.鈥� Sarah also highlighted why it鈥檚 important to protect our right to learn.
Armed with this information, community members felt empowered to take action. Seema asked the audience to use their power to affect change. "We rely on events like these, and people like yourselves, to spread information about the books and to organize so we [the LGBTQ+ community] can have a better future,鈥� she said.
Later, attendees shared how the bus tour had inspired them to get involved. A member of the Booked Ban Club at the University of Georgia shared with me how they would use the information they learned to mobilize their supporters. In Savannah, a Black activist told me how he was part of the Crusade for Voters, and spent nights in jail and days at protests in the fight for Black Americans to have the right to vote, and how he is also calling for the next generation to use their right to vote. It was heartwarming to see the ACLU鈥檚 Know Your Rights Bus Tour continue a legacy of activism in Georgia and connect with community members in the state.
Our bus is now on the road to Philadelphia and Detroit for concerts, game shows and more to educate folks on civil liberties and the importance of voting. If you鈥檙e not able to catch us on tour, you can and learn more about how you can vote for your rights this year.
