Children’s book author Kwame Alexander hosted a FREADOM Town Hall Rally on May 31 at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, D.C. as part of his Read Strong America initiative. The event was included in the Teach Truth Day of Action map of events.
Speakers included Kwame Alexander, Amanda Jones, Meg Medina, Jason Reynolds, Sasa Aakil, Ibram X. Kendi, and more. They spoke in defense of creative expression, access to all books, and the freedom to learn.
The NEA provided free children’s books. The Zinn Education Project (Rethinking Schools and Teaching for Change) brought a Teach Truth pop-up display and information about Social Justice Books. Other cosponsors had tables including the American Library Association, Shout Mouse Press, An Open Book Foundation, Hurston Wright Foundation, and First Book.
Following the program in the auditorium, many participants marched around the library to raise public awareness about the need to defend the freedom to read and to speak out.
A full recording is available at readstrongamerica.org.
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