On the #TeachTruth Day of Action, every Lush store in the United States installed a display about banned books, featuring the picture book Fry Bread (one of 176 books that were removed from classrooms in Duval County, Florida, in January 2022) and a link to learn more at the Zinn Education Project.
Since 2022, Lush has contributed to the fight against book bans by featuring informational displays in their more than 200 stores in the United States. In January of 2024, all shops received When Wilma Rudolph Played Basketball (reported as the second most challenged school library book in Texas in 2021) and in 2025, they are spotlighting Fry Bread. Lush worked with Teaching for Change on the book selection, orders, and messaging. Both titles are among the dozens on our Social Justice Books list of recommended banned books and they are both among four titles featured in our Teach Truth pop-up display.
Here is Lush’s statement about this initiative.
As a campaigning company, we’re concerned about this attack on educators, and on truth. We’re standing with teachers and librarians and partnering with organizations working to resist book bans so that knowledge is available to all. We believe that when educators have the tools to teach the truth in history, it supports students’ understanding of the present so they can build a better future.
Following the launch of our Banned Book Library at SXSW (and other locations in 2023), we installed eight “mini” Banned Book Libraries in South Lake (Texas), Stonebriar (Texas), North Park (Texas), King of Prussia (Pennsylvania), Florida Mall (Florida), Oak Park (Kansas), Scottsdale (Arizona), and Tysons Corner (Virginia) last September. These locations ranked highest on the list of states that were banning books, and we’ve heard there have been some great conversations.
Following SXSW, the Banned Book Library went on tour across the country — from Texas to New York to Florida — to bring this issue to people in real life to raise awareness and share resources for taking action. The Banned Book Library now lives on Roosevelt Island in New York, as part of the Four Freedoms Park collection.
We created a banned book storytime YouTube series where three Drag Queens read banned books, and there are several articles on our website that list banned books and showcase leaders in the movement to keep books on the shelves. There’s even a curated Banned Book Reading List.
In 2024, we launched One Banned Book in shops with When Wilma Rudolph Played Basketball, the true story of U.S. gold medal Olympian Wilma Rudolph. As a child, Rudolph overcame physical disabilities in her journey to become an athlete. The book also highlights the racism faced by her family.
In addition, in 2022 we hosted the Teach Truth campaign in our shops which raised $350,000 to support free resources for educators teaching the truth, including purchasing 13,000 copies of The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks, which the Zinn Education Project helped deliver to educators across the country.
Our primary partner for this library is the Zinn Education Project and the bookmark links to their resources, but we are also working with PEN America, the American Library Association, and others. We’re also connected with many of the authors that are on our shelves!
We are collecting photos of the Fry Bread display in stores around the country. Snap a photo from the store near you and send it to us at info@teachingforchange.org. While there, also check out the Sonflower campaign to help end gun violence in schools and communities.