Freedom to Read Foundation

Behind every banned book battle, there’s someone willing to say no.

No to censorship.
No to intimidation.
No to removing stories from shelves.

These librarians changed history by protecting access to ideas — even when it cost them.

Their fight isn’t over.
And neither is ours.

Honoring Jesse Jackson Reverent Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. (1941-2026)

As founder and president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, he worked to expand educational access, economic opportunity, and inclusion across social and cultural divides.

His work extended internationally through humanitarian missions promoting nonviolent dialogue and helping resolve global crises.

Deeply committed to uplifting future generations, he focused on youth mentorship, education advocacy, and advancing dignity and fair treatment for workers worldwide. A legacy defined by service, unity, and the enduring belief that hope becomes powerful when people work together. Free People Read Freely (R)

As Black History Month comes to a close, we highlight the remarkable legacy of Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. from empowering communities through the Rainbow Push Coalition to inspiring youth and championing global justice.

📷 photo credits: Rainbow Push Coalition, AARP

LEARN AND UNLEARN Read books and challenge what you thought you knew.

Books by Black authors are disproportionately challenged in schools and libraries. Stories about race, identity, and lived experience are often labeled “controversial” simply for being honest. From classics to contemporary titles, books by Black writers have long faced censorship efforts. The message behind many of these challenges is clear: some perspectives are treated as optional instead of essential.

The freedom to read means allowing individuals to explore ideas, ask questions, and form their own understanding. Intellectual freedom protects access to books that inform, challenge, and inspire — including those that make us uncomfortable.

Students lose opportunities to see themselves reflected.
Readers lose the chance to engage with complex truths.
Communities lose access to conversations that literature helps us have.

Silencing stories doesn’t protect people, it narrows their world. #BlackHistoryMonth

Webinar The Journey of a Book: How Books go from Publisher to the Public A webinar with Nate Coulter and the Freedom to Read Foundation

Nate Coulter, Executive Director of the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS), wanted a way to share how the journey of a book, from creation, to purchase, to waiting on a shelf for a reader, protects the First Amendment rights of everyone who comes to our public libraries. We encourage librarians, library workers, library trustees and anyone interested in the freedom to read to join us for this short, and informative, event.

What happens before a book reaches the shelf matters. Watch now and join us for a conversation on February 26.

This video from CALS explores how the journey of a book protects First Amendment rights and access to information for all. www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5ea...

www.ftrf.org/news/720401/...

Heavy — Kiese Laymon

How to Be an Antiracist — Ibram X. Kendi

The 1619 Project (book edition) — Nikole Hannah-Jones & contributors

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings — Maya Angelou

Between the World and Me — Ta-Nehisi Coates

Read BOOKS BY BLACK AUTHORS here’s a list of memoirs definitely worth reading

Defending the Freedom to Read means showing up for these voices, supporting libraries and educators, and speaking out when access to stories is threatened. Because the right to read includes the right to read stories that some would rather avoid.

This Black History Month, we celebrate Black voices and reaffirm the Freedom to Read. Protecting access to these stories means protecting the right of every reader to learn, reflect, and think for themselves.

#BlackHistoryMonth

Protecting the freedom to read means defending the right of every reader to encounter the full complexity of our shared history. This Black History Month, we stand against censorship and for the voices that help us tell the truth about our past and imagine a more just future.

#BlackHistoryMonth

The Librarians is heading to living rooms across the country and is sharing a powerful message far and wide. Catch this important documentary on PBS, February 9.

www.pbs.org/independentl...

Show up for our libraries. ALA American Library Association.

New: Yesterday the Administration filed notice to appeal a recent decision in federal court which halted actions to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

IMLS grants are still in place while the court hears the appeal. The appeals process will take time. 1/2

19th of January Martin Luther King Jr Day The time is always right to do what is right

Today we honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

A leader who showed the world the power of courage, compassion, and unwavering faith in justice.

At FTRF, we carry that spirit forward by believing in progress, unity, and building a future where everyone has the chance to rise.

The uglier the sweater, the bigger the bragging rights. Today’s the day—show off those festive disasters! 🤶🎁 #FTRFgetsUGLY

December 19th is the Ugly Sweater Day Join us on Dec 19th in your best UGLY SWEATER and use the hashtag #FTRFGetsUGLY

Dust off the sparkles, the snowflakes, and the wonderfully tacky threads–Ugly Sweater Day is almost here! Get ready to bring your boldest holiday chaos.

#Christmas #FTRFGetsUgly

Indigenous stories carry generations of strength, knowledge, and truth.

Support the Freedom to Read Foundation to keep those stories accessible.

Your donation helps protect the right to read for all: tr.ee/gb_gsTycXY

We appreciate your support. Your donation helps protect the right to read for all.

It's #GivingTuesday! I gave to @teachingchange.bsky.social and @ftrf.bsky.social. #Education and #IntellectualFreedom go hand in hand. #TLSky #EduSky. Let's make sure the young people we serve experience their #FirstAmendment rights and are empowered to take action in their schools/communities!

A cozy confession: yes, we bring a book to Thanksgiving dinner… just in case.

Swipe to see which type of holiday reader you are. 🍁✨

Here's your chance to support the stories that inspire, challenge and empower us. When you donate to the Freedom to Read Foundation, you help safeguard open access to books and uphold the rights of every reader.

Your gift on Dec. 2 keeps library shelves full of possibility. www.ftrf.org/page/donate

The freedoms we cherish, including the freedom to read, think, and speak openly — are safeguarded by those who have served. On Veterans Day, we express our gratitude to all who have defended these rights and the democratic principles that sustain them.

#VeteransDay

Stories shape understanding. Limiting access to them limits our freedom to learn.

HB 900 would have silenced countless voices — from classic authors to today’s storytellers — by forcing schools to pull books that mention sex or relationships. That’s censorship, plain and simple.

Students in Texas would not have been allowed to read or borrow books that merely touch on the topics of sex or relationships regardless of the work’s literary, scientific or artistic value.

On Tuesday, October 21, 2025 a Federal judge in Waco, Texas declared that House Bill 900, also known as the READER Act, violates the constitution. A copy of the final order can be accessed through the link in our bio. The ruling makes a lower court's temporary injunction, that the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals later upheld, permanent.

In November of 2023, the Freedom to Read Foundation and the American Association of School Librarians filed an amicus curiae brief in the Fifth Circuit that supported the request by the American Booksellers Association, the Association of American Publishers, the Authors Guild, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and two Texas bookstores to halt enforcement of the Texas law HB900.

The brief argues that the law violates the First Amendment rights of booksellers, publishers, authors and students. See a copy of the amicus brief through the link in our bio.

The fight for the freedom to read continues.
In November 2023, the Freedom to Read Foundation and AASL filed an amicus curiae brief supporting a challenge to Texas law HB 900, which threatened the First Amendment rights of booksellers, publishers, authors, and students.

tr.ee/4XlSHYFTGw

What’s scarier than ghosts, ghouls, or goblins?
A banned book collecting dust.
👀📚
#ReadingIsPower #BooksAreMagic #FreedomToRead #ReadFreely #BooksNotBans #LetBooksBeBooks #RightToRead #BannedBooksWeek #UncensoredStories #ReadWithoutLimits #ProtectBooks #StoriesForAll #Halloween

Books have been banned. Voices have been silenced.

This award celebrates those who refuse to let censorship win. Carrying her spirit forward, we celebrate champions of free expression🏆

Join us alongside @eleanorrooseveltcenter on SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11 AT 7:00 PM EST

LITTLE V. LLANO COUNTY A three-judge Fifth Circuit panel affirmed that removal of books based on content was unconstitutional.

Texas residents sued after 17 books—many about LGBTQ+ identities, race, and sexual health—were pulled from public library shelves. A district court ordered the books restored, and a Fifth Circuit panel initially agreed that removing them violated the First Amendment. Part of the court went further, declaring that library collection decisions are “government speech” and not subject to review.

The dissent warned this decision undermines decades of precedent and opens the door to censorship in public libraries across Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, with the case now potentially headed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The First Amendment protects our right to read, learn, and access ideas without government censorship. When that right is weakened, we all lose. Follow the Freedom to Read Foundation for updates on Little v. Llano County.

This en banc decision ignores and upends long-standing precedent meant to safeguard a diversity of ideas in public institutions. For the people who rely on these books, this isn't abstract–it affects access, knowledge, and community.

#ConstitutionDay

This Suicide Prevention Month, let’s fight to ensure every young person can access the support, community, and information they deserve to not just survive, but thrive💜
#SuicidePreventionDay

600 typewriters. 21 cages. One message.

First shown on the site of the Nazi book burnings in Berlin, and now continuing its journey around the world.

Seen here at the ALA, the work reminds us: the fight for free expression is far from over.

#FreedomToRead #WritersBlock #SherylOring #Censorship

Happy 4th of July But what about the First Amendment?

The First Amendment is not a relic, it’s a responsibility. In times of political pressure, disinformation, and coordinated censorship, the freedom to read is more than a right—it’s a safeguard for democracy. The First Amendment protects not just speech, but access to diverse voices, stories, and truths that shape who we are and who we can become. At the Freedom to Read Foundation, we defend this right every day because without it, every library, classroom, and community is at risk.

At the Freedom to Read Foundation, we protect the First Amendment rights—because without access to knowledge, there is no informed public. And without an informed public, there is no democracy.

🇺🇸Defend the freedom to read.

#FreedomToRead #ReadFreely #BooksNotBans