LeVar Burton & 175 other artists denounce “white supremacist” book bans

Beloved actor and LGBTQ+ ally LeVar Burton — and over 175 other artists and authors — have signed an open letter encouraging people to fight back against anti-LGBTQ+ book bans that are sweeping the nation.

“Far-right politicians like Ron DeSantis are championing draconian laws to ban books and the teaching of accurate multicultural American history in favor of upholding a homophobic, transphobic, and white supremacist vision of our nation,” the letter’s website, Artists Against Book Bans, reads. The website and campaign were spearheaded by the progressive political group MoveOn.

Related:

Community bands together & shuts down LGBTQ+ book-banning effort

After the board voted against the proposal, hundreds applauded their decision.

The letter begins with the artists stating that they’re “horrified by the threat of censorship in the form of book bans.”

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“This restrictive behavior is not just antithetical to free speech and expression but has a chilling effect on the broader creative field,” the letter says. “The government cannot and should not create any interference or dictate what people can produce, write, generate, read, listen to, or consume.”

“We cannot stress enough how these censorious efforts will not end with book bans,” the letter continues. “It’s only a matter of time before regressive, suppressive ideologues will shift their focus toward other forms of art and entertainment, to further their attacks and efforts to scapegoat marginalized communities, particularly BIPOC (Black, indigenous, and people of color) and LGBTQ+ folks.”

“We refuse to remain silent as one creative field is subjected to oppressive bans,” it adds. “As artists, we must band together, because a threat to one form of art is a threat to us all.”

“We are calling on everyone to join us in pushing back against these book bans, support free and open creative industries—regardless of personal or ideological disagreements—and use their voice at the local level to stop these bans in their school districts. There is power in artistic freedom, and we refuse to allow draconian politicians to take that from us,” the letter concludes.

The letter was also signed by other allies such as directors Guillermo del Toro and Rob Reiner, TV science educator Bill Nye, singer Ariana Grande, parent Gabrielle Union, queer activist ALOK, trans athlete Chris Mosier, gay former NBA player Jason Collins, actor John Leguizamo, bisexual comedian Margaret Cho, model Padma Lakshmi, and many more.

In an individual statement, Burton wrote, “It’s embarrassing that we are banning books in this country, in this culture, in this day and age. And it’s dangerous that a handful of individuals are deciding that any book with Black and queer people is divisive. I’m proud to be surrounded by hundreds of artists and millions of MoveOn members who are solidly against this type of censorship. We are calling on everyone to join us in raising their voices to uphold artistic freedom, embrace multicultural history, and put a stop once and for all to book bans.”

School bans on LGBTQ+ books are “escalating dramatically,” according to the free-speech organization PEN America. The bans have largely come from Republican politicians, conservative school boards, and so-called “parents’ rights” groups that have opposed such content as “woke indoctrination” that’s “inappropriate” for school children.

About one-third of the 1,586 books banned from schools nationwide have LGBTQ+ themes and characters, PEN America reported. In 98 percent of cases, the school districts didn’t follow First Amendment protections to ensure that government officials don’t ban or punish free speech, PEN America reported.

This isn’t the first time that Burton has publicly spoken out against LGBTQ+ book bans. In February 2022, he appeared on the satirical news program The Daily Show where he urged kids to read banned books, saying, ‘That’s where the good stuff is.”

During his Daily Show appearance, he tried to read several children’s books but was repeatedly informed by the show’s censors that he can’t read various books because they’re banned. At one point, he holds up And Tango Makes Three, an often-banned children’s book about two male penguins raising a chick together.

At first, he said the book should be devoid of controversy since “it doesn’t have any people in it at all,” The Detroit News reported. However, he then informs viewers, ” I’m told that that book is also banned because of sexual perversion, which is weird because there’s no sex in the book at all.”

Burton is perhaps best known for playing Geordi La Forge in the 1990s-era sci-fi TV drama Star Trek: The Next Generation and serving as the 23-year host of the PBS Kids educational TV series Reading Rainbow. He just released Season 12 of his podcast LeVar Burton Reads, in which he reads a short story for each new installment.

LeVar Burton has served on the board of directors for the AIDS Research Alliance, a group dedicated to finding a cure to HIV, and has also expressed having “zero tolerance” for homophobic and Islamophobic speech on social media.