Censorship is so 1984. Read for Your Rights | Banned Books Exhibit

You Can’t Read This – Censorship is so 1984. Read for Your Rights | Banned Books Exhibit

Learn more about censorship, challenges, book bans and your right to read at this interactive exhibit. Aligned with banned Books Week, the exhibit will feature ALA resources, with the theme Censorship Is So 1984. Read for Your Rights.

From ALA: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution passed by Congress September 25, 1789. Ratified December 15, 1791.

One of the ten amendments of the Bill of Rights, the First Amendment gives everyone residing in the United States the right to hear all sides of every issue and to make their own judgments about those issues without government interference or limitations.

By virtue of the Fourteenth Amendment, the First Amendment’s constitutional right of free speech and intellectual freedom also applies to state and local governments. Government agencies and government officials are forbidden from regulating or restricting speech or other expression based on its content or viewpoint.

Every year, the American Library Association (ALA) recognizes Banned Books week at the beginning of October (5th-11th). The theme this year is Censorship Is So 1984. Read for Your Rights.

From ALA: ‘With the escalation in attempts to ban books in libraries, schools, and bookstores around the country, George Orwell’s cautionary tale “1984” serves a prescient warning about the dangers of censorship. This year’s theme reminds us that the right to read belongs to all of us, that censorship has no place in contemporary society, and that we must defend our rights.’