"Banned Books" March Against Censorship In Doylestown

DOYLESTOWN BOROUGH, PA — “Books unite us. Censorship divides us,” they chanted as they paraded through the heart of Doylestown Borough on Saturday.

To celebrate “Banned Books Week,” a group of volunteers organized by Advocates for Inclusive Education, dressed up as some of the nation’s Top 10 banned books in 2021 to show their support for the marketplace of ideas and protest against censorship.

Every few blocks the group paused for a moment as leader Kate Nazemi introduced one of the Top 10 books, shared its story and why it had been banned and awarded it a number of where it falls on the banned books list.

“Did you know that Americans of all political persuasions oppose book bans? It’s true. Large majorities - more than eight in 10 - don’t think books should be banned from school,” said Nazemi, in announcing the second most banned book in the nation.

“Lawn Boy,” she said, “is a wonderful coming of age story about a 22 year old Mexican man told with wit and humor. This book has a lot of swear words and it’s probably not for everyone. But freedom is about having choices and not giving a few parents the ability to decide what all students should read.

“Lawn Boy,” she said. “You have been banned for LGTBQ+ content and you are considered sexually explicit.”

Shana Trichon, who was depicting the book in the parade, stepped forward to receive the book’s number two designation on the Banned Books List.

“I think the Banned Book Parade is awesome,” said Trichon, the parent of a third and ninth grader in the Central Bucks School District. “This is amazing. These people are amazing. And it’s important that we’re bringing attention to a very important issue that we should not be banning books. We should be allowing kids to explore and read what they need.

“It’s important to keep books in our schools and books on our shelves whatever they may be,” she added. “We need books to understand what we are going through and to connect. And nobody should ban any books.”

Nazemi said getting the information out to people in Central Bucks is especially challenging because the local school district is pushing a narrative that they are not banning books.

“The fact is when you restrict access to books through a selection process that is incredibly hard to interpret and understand, that is censorship,” she said.

“It’s also hard in a wealthy community like Doylestown where people say my kids can just go to the book store or order it over Amazon. But that isn’t the point. The point is you shouldAdvocates for Inclusive Education and Red, Wine, and Blue.n’t censor ideas and information. There’s a free flow of ideas and information in our society. When you start to chip away at that our Democracy suffers.”

Nazemi said she was happy with Saturday’s Banned Books Parade and hopes it’s one of many to come.

“If we informed one person today I’d be happy,” she said.

The Banned Books of 2021

• Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe
• Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison
• All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
• Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Pérez
• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
• The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
• Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
• The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
• This Book Is Gay by Juno Dawson
• Beyond Magenta by Susan Kuklin

The parade was part of a local celebration of Banned Books Week organized by Advocates for Inclusive Education and Red Wine and Blue.

Other events included a youth program at the Rainbow Room in Doylestown featuring Central Bucks School District trans student activist, Lily Freeman of Project Uncensored, story time with LGBTQ+ children’s books, door prizes, cookies and hot cocoa.

In addition, Red Wine and Blue held a "Celebrate Little Free Libraries" event at The Garden Bar at Puck, Doylestown. The event featured local speakers and the donation of banned book to the borough's Little Free Libraries.

Banned Books Week also coincided with this year’s Bucks County Book Festival, which featured book readings, a writer’s workshop and a Books and Brews event.