The Hidden Cost of Defending Books: Voices from the Front Lines
November 18th, 6 – 7 pm EST
This thought-provoking panel discussion will delve into the emotional landscape of activism in the fight against book bans. The panel will examine the complex interplay of emotions that drive individuals to champion intellectual freedom, featuring a renowned author whose work has been challenged, a dedicated librarian on the frontlines of censorship, and a passionate student activist.
From the frustration experienced when ideas are silenced, to the unwavering determination of those defending access to information, to the resilience required to face threats of violence and intimidation, this discussion will provide powerful insights from individuals on the front line of book banning.
This event is free to register and open to all.
Our Panel
Ocean Vuong
Writer, professor, and photographer, Ocean Vuong is the author of On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, winner of the American Book Award, The Mark Twain Award, and The New England Book Award. The novel debuted for six weeks on The New York Times bestseller list and has since sold more than a million copies in 40 languages. A nominee for the National Book Award and a recipient of a MacArthur “Genius” Grant, he is also the author of the poetry collections, Time is a Mother, a finalist for the Griffin prize, and Night Sky with Exit Wounds, a New York Times Top 10 Book, winner of the T.S. Eliot Prize, the Whiting Award, the Thom Gunn Award. A Ruth Lilly fellow from the Poetry Foundation, his honors include fellowships from the Lannan Foundation, the Civitella Ranieri Foundation, The Elizabeth George Foundation, The Academy of American Poets, and the Pushcart Prize.
Selected by Foreign Policy magazine as one of its 100 Leading Global Thinkers, Vuong’s writings have been featured in The Atlantic, Granta, Harpers, The Nation, New Republic, The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Paris Review, The Village Voice, and American Poetry Review, which awarded him the Stanley Kunitz Prize for Younger Poets.
Born in Saigon, Vietnam and raised in Hartford, Connecticut in a working class family of nail salon and factory laborers, he was educated at nearby Manchester Community College before transferring to Pace University to study International Marketing. Without completing his first term, he dropped out and enrolled at Brooklyn College, where he graduated with a BA in Nineteenth Century American Literature. He subsequently received his MFA in Poetry from NYU.
Cameron Samuels
Cameron Samuels (they/them/theirs) organized nationally recognized efforts against book banning and LGBTQ+ internet censorship in the Katy Independent School District in Texas. Within months of once facing the school board alone, receiving no applause while other speakers stoked fear with bigotry, Samuels packed school board meetings and distributed hundreds of banned books to students across Texas. With the ACLU, Samuels filed legal action that resulted in the district unblocking queer internet resources like the Trevor Project and the Montrose Center. Later that year, President Barack Obama recognized Samuels for their efforts against book banning.
Samuels is now organizing a coalition of Students Engaged in Advancing Texas to demonstrate youth visibility in policymaking. In the Texas Legislature, SEAT has organized on the frontlines in opposition to legislation diminishing students’ rights, authored bills increasing student representation in educational decisions, and developed amendments against the House Bill 900 book ban bill. With SEAT, Samuels has spearheaded grassroots opposition to anti-LGBTQ+ mandates in Texas school districts, organized events with high-profile creatives and policymakers, visited the White House to meet President Joe Biden and join federal efforts, and testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary for a hearing on book bans.
In 2022, Samuels was named the inaugural Youth Honorary Chair of Banned Books Week, a Seventeen Magazine Voice of the Year, an NBC Pride 30 trailblazer, and one of Teen Vogue‘s 21 Under 21 and GLAAD’s 20 Under 20. This past year, Samuels received the Trailblazer Award from the Human Rights Campaign, was recognized in OutSmart as a hometown hero, and was honored as Pride Houston’s Honorary Trendsetter Grand Marshal. In 2024, Samuels was a SXSW EDU panelist with best-selling author Angie Thomas for “How to Be a Freedom Fighter” on the unprecedented attacks on education and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Becky Calzada
Becky Calzada is the District Library Coordinator in Leander, Texas and is a co-founding member of Texas #FReadom Fighters, a grass-roots led group of librarians launched back in October of 2021 in support of intellectual freedom and to highlight the positive work of school librarians. She was selected for the 4th ALA Policy Corp Cohort, works as a member of the ALA Policy Corp Proactive Advocacy on Book Banning cadre and is a past member of the ALA Intellectual Freedom Committee. She is the recipient of several intellectual freedom awards and was honored by People Magazine in their 2023 Women Changing the World portfolio. Becky is the 24/25 AASL President and is the co-author of Prepared Libraries, Empowered Teams: A Workbook for Navigating Intellectual Freedom Challenges Together which was published by ALA Editions in June 2024.
Kasey MeEhan
Kasey Meehan is the Freedom to Read Program Director at PEN America, leading our initiatives to protect the right of students to freely access literature in schools. Previously, Kasey served as the Associate Director of Postsecondary Policy at a mission-driven education research organization in Philadelphia, Research for Action. Kasey’s research centers students, educators, and school leaders’ experiences in identifying strategies for reform and capturing emerging best practices and strives to connect research to policy and program change. Kasey holds a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and a MPA from the Fels Institute at the University of Pennsylvania, along with a Certificate in Politics.
Sara BoEttiger
Sara Boettiger is the great-granddaughter of Eleanor Roosevelt. Dr. Boettiger is an economist with a career tackling social and environmental challenges around the world. She currently works on global agriculture and food systems, climate change, women’s economic empowerment, corporate social responsibility, and ocean conservancy. Sara also serves on the Board of Directors at The Eleanor Roosevelt Center.
This panel discussion is brought to you by The Eleanor Roosevelt Center and SEAT
About The Eleanor Roosevelt Center
The Eleanor Roosevelt Center is dedicated to breathing new life into the precedents set and the legacies left behind by the First Lady of the World, Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt.
We strive to be Eleanor Roosevelt’s heart, mind and voice in realizing a better world – a world of acceptance, opportunity, dignity and respect for all.
The Eleanor Roosevelt Center educates, inspires and empowers participants to use their talent and resources to build a sustainable world which reflects Eleanor’s passion for human rights, principled leadership and social justice.
Learn more about the Eleanor Roosevelt Center here: ervk.org/our-mission
About SEAT
SEAT (Students Engaged in Advancing Texas) is a movement of young people developing transferable skills and demonstrating youth visibility in policymaking.
By engaging in constructive action with active engagement in hands-on opportunities of advocacy and education, we’re creating a vehicle for driving civic transformation as we build a social movement for bettering our communities and dismantling oppressive power structures.
Through storytelling and intergenerational partnerships, we’re cultivating cultural shifts to center student narratives, promote student rights, and shape a future where students hold agency in education.
Learn more about SEAT on their website: studentsengaged.org
Thank you to PEN America and Texas FReadom Fighters for also participating in this discussion
PEN America
PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible.
Founded in 1922, PEN America is the largest of the more than 100 centers worldwide that make up the PEN International network. PEN America works to ensure that people everywhere have the freedom to create literature, to convey information and ideas, to express their views, and to access the views, ideas, and literatures of others. Our strength is our Membership—a nationwide community of more than 4,500 novelists, journalists, nonfiction writers, editors, poets, essayists, playwrights, publishers, translators, agents, and other writing professionals, as well as devoted readers and supporters who join with them to carry out PEN America’s mission.
PEN America’s programs defend writers, artists, and journalists and protect free expression worldwide. This work includes research and reports on topical issues; advocacy on free expression challenges; campaigns on policy issues and on behalf of individual writers and journalists under threat; year-round festivals and events; literary awards; fellowships; and more. pen.org
Texas FReadom Fighters
The Texas based FReadom Fighters started in October 2021. A group of Texas librarians concerned about rhetoric regarding libraries and librarians in Texas launched a virtual takeover of the #txlege hashtag on November 4, 2021. Over 16,000+ tweets were posted with participants sharing book titles, book covers and personal stories about how those books impacted them as readers.
Since then, the FReadomFighters have hosted Friday actions celebrating books and libraries, held monthly actions for followers to participate in, presented workshops and webinars on intellectual freedom, and worked with community members to ward off censorship. Our work continues to evolve over time. Due to our grassroots efforts, we are recognized leaders for speaking up, advocating with Tx state legislators, tracking censorship, supporting librarians, and communicating with the media regarding the impacts of censorship, policies on library services for students, and the librarian professionals who serve them. txfreadomfighters.us
Register for the Virtual Panel Discussion
We’ll email you the link for the discussion and send a reminder before the event!