The Freedom to Read Act is a bill that would ensure that librarians across New York can cultivate inclusive, diverse book collections as a way to fight censorship within schools. On Monday, education advocates hosted a read-in at the State Capitol urging New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign the bill as the end of the year approaches.
Advocates from the New York Library Association, Albany Public Library, and other education-based institutions stood in a hall demanding New York State Governor Kathy Hochul sign the Freedom to Read Act as they read excerpts from banned books such as “To Kill a Mockingbird.” "All Boys Aren't Blue" and “The Bluest Eye.” The act, which passed both chambers of the New York State Legislature in June, is awaiting Hochul’s signature before implementation.
According to the advocates, this act is a way to fight censorship that is playing out across the nation, including in some New York communities, by ensuring New York students can read about a wide variety of characters and issues.
Amanda Babine, the executive director of Equality New York, says censorship is not an isolated issue.
"One of the things we've been talking about and one of our kind of slogans is this is not a red state issue. We've had censorship here in New York State. Often people think New York is very, very liberal. The city is often very liberal," said Babine. "But, you know, we've seen book bans on Long Island over the last few years. We've seen them up in the North Country. So, they're happening, and so our worry is that young people will no longer have access to those books and literature.”
