admin “When I read Fahrenheit 451 for the first time,” LeVar Burton says, “I couldn’t imagine that situation in my reality. It was a shame, right? Wow. Those poor people in that misguided society. I live in that society now. That dystopian story has become my truth.”
It’s a timely message: According to the American Library Association, attempts to ban books hit unprecedented levels in 2022. Pen America reports that during the 2022-23 school year, the number of banned books increased by 33% compared to the previous year. Google “teacher fired for book,” and you’ll find accounts of educators losing their jobs over everything from a graphic-novel adaptation of Anne Frank’s diary to the young-adult novel Dear Martin to I Need a New Butt—but more often than ever, it’s books that deal with (or even just allude to) gender identity, sexual orientation, and racism that end up on the chopping block.
Burton, a literacy icon and an executive producer of the 2023 documentary The Right to Read, has partnered with the civic-action nonprofit MoveOn.org on a limited-edition T-shirt designed by Alex Basovskiy, which features the former Reading Rainbow host’s likeness and the slogan “LeVar Burton Says Read Banned Books.”
For the past few years, MoveOn has been at the forefront of the opposition to mass book bans. It has mobilized over 175 artists, authors, musicians, directors, and other community leaders to support this cause. And its traveling BookMobile has brought free copies of banned books to thousands of Americans.
“We went through Illinois and North Carolina and Georgia,” MoveOn’s executive director Rahna Epting says, “and we saw families, kids, parents, librarians, schoolteachers, bookstore owners, and so many proud Americans come together and tell us, ‘We are so excited you’re here.’” Even in the face of an increasingly militant book-banning movement, Epting and Burton say they’re not giving up; they hope this merch collab will get people excited to fight back.
GQ: How did you both get into becoming advocates for literacy?
LeVar Burton: I’m just a kid who grew up with a mother who insisted that he read. It’s a core principle that has played out over the course of my life. I didn’t plan this shit, but I’m living it and I’m good with it. Somebody’s got to do it.
