Barack Obama is fighting book bans with heartwarming cameos in library TikTok videos

Former President Barack Obama amped up his fight against efforts to ban books with cameo appearances in TikTok videos posted by local libraries this week.

Obama made a brief appearance at the end of a clip posted to Chicago’s Kankakee Public Library’s TikTok account featuring librarians reading books like Ibram X. Kendi’s Antiracist Baby, Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, and Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give, all of which have been targeted by conservative groups and Republican politicians for removal from school and public library shelves across the country. Toward the end of the video, the former president can be seen quietly reading on his own, before the cutting to a black screening and the words “Reading can transport you to new worlds.”

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As conservatives ban LGBTQ+ stories, we asked queer adults to share essential reading for youth

Who was the first queer author you discovered that made you realize you weren’t alone? The one that made you imagine a future for yourself?

@kankakeepubliclibrary

Reading can transport you to new worlds 📚 #LetFreedomRead #FreedomToRead #SummerReading #KankakeePublicLibrary

♬ original sound – Kankakee Public Library

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Obama also appeared in a video posted by the Harris County Public Library in Houston, Texas. That clip spoofs local car dealership commercials, with “Curbside Larry” loudly proclaiming that “the Harris County Public Library is all about your freedom to read!”

The video cuts to the former president calling Larry to urge him to use his “library voice,” while agreeing that the freedom to read “should be available to everyone.”

“HCPL is committed to ensuring that all people see themselves and their life experiences reflected on its shelves and in its program,” the post’s caption reads. “As such, the Library is a staunch advocate for Texans’ right to read and defends open and equitable access to information and ideas.”

@harriscountypl

You heard the man, HCPL is a Library for Allllllllllll! 🗣️ HCPL is committed to ensuring that all people see themselves and their life experiences reflected on its shelves and in its program. As such, the library is a staunch advocate for Texans’ right to read and defends open and equitable access to information and ideas. Get loud in support of our libraries and their role in providing opportunities, programs, and books for all. Visit hcpl.net/libraryforall to find out more! Thank you to The Obama Foundation for the collab 👏 #LetFreedomRead #freedomtoread #summerreading #libraryforall #bannedbooks #i❤️hcpl #obamafoundation

♬ original sound – HCPL

“To have someone like President Obama appreciating the work that we do, and also sharing our mission for intellectual freedom, it just couldn’t come at a better time,” Harris County Public Library system’s director of programs, partnerships, and outreach Linda Stevens told The Washington Post.

Kankakee Public Library youth services supervisor Mary Bass, meanwhile, told The Chicago Tribune that the library provides books to everybody on every topic. “That’s what libraries stand for,” she said. “It’s not just one particular worldview. We are here for everyone, and we want them to see that there’s space for you.”

“I don’t think that any one of us has the right to start saying, ‘I don’t like this, so no one should have access to it,’” library director Allison Beasley said of efforts to ban books.

According to the Houston Chronicle, public libraries in California, Maryland, and Illinois also posted TikTok videos featuring appearances by Obama as part of the Obama Foundation’s Freedom to Read Campaign.

The former president kicked off the campaign Monday with an open letter to America’s librarians. “Today, some of the books that shaped my life – and the lives of so many others – are being challenged by people who disagree with certain ideas or perspectives,” he wrote. “It’s no coincidence that these ‘banned books’ are often written by or feature people of color, indigenous people, and members of the LGBTQ+ community.”

“I believe such an approach is profoundly misguided, and contrary to what has made this country great,” Obama continued. “As I’ve said before, not only is it important for young people from all walks of life to see themselves represented in the pages of books, but it’s also important for all of us to engage with different ideas and points of view.”

Today, some of the books that shaped my life—and the lives of so many others—are being challenged by people who disagree with certain ideas or perspectives. And librarians are on the front lines, fighting every day to make the widest possible range of viewpoints, opinions, and… pic.twitter.com/txhCTfH3Gh

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) July 17, 2023

Across the country, efforts to ban books have disproportionately targeted titles by and about LGBTQ+ and Black people. According to PEN America, 26 percent of the books targeted by groups like Moms for Liberty during the 2022–2023 school year featured LGBTQ+ characters or themes.