Pink plans to give away 2,000 banned books at her South Florida shows this week.
The “Irrelevant” singer is partnering with PEN America, a literary and free expression group to get books into the hands of Floridians.
“It’s confusing, it’s infuriating, it is censorship,” she said during an Instagram Live.
The mother of two, who is currently touring for her latest album Trustfall, spoke with Suzanne Nossel, CEO of PEN America, about her decision to partner with the organization.
“I’m a voracious reader, and I’m a mom of two kids who are also voracious readers,” Pink said. “And I can’t imagine my own parents telling me what my kids can and cannot read, let alone someone else’s parents, let alone someone else that doesn’t even have children that are deciding what my children can read.”
The Grammy-award winning artist said her goal is to highlight the rise of book bans in the Sunshine State.
“It’s especially hateful to see authorities take aim at books about race and racism and against LGBTQ authors and those of color. We have made so many strides toward equality in this country and no one should want to see this progress reversed,” she said in a statement.
During her shows in Miami and Sunrise, concertgoers will receive copies of “The Family Book” by Todd Parr, “The Hill We Climb” by Amanda Gorman, “Beloved” by Toni Morrison, or one of the books from the “Girls Who Code” series.
Nossel expressed her gratitude for Pink’s partnership, especially since Florida currently ranks number one in book bans.
“This is a wave that is taking over our country, our schools, our libraries. [They] are going after books about children of color, stories of LGBTQ families, books about babies, about animals,” she said during the livestream. “This is censorship in its purest form. It is meant to suppress narratives that we need here as a pluralistic society and so we have to push back.”
While PEN America has data showing more than half of Florida’s school districts have enacted “instances of book bans,” the department of education and governor Ron DeSantis have denied such a thing takes place in Florida.
“Exposing the ‘book ban’ hoax is important because it reveals that some are attempting to use our schools for indoctrination,” DeSantis said earlier this year.
“In Florida, pornographic and inappropriate materials that have been snuck into our classrooms and libraries to sexualize our students violate our state education standards.”
Way to go, Pink! Everyone should have access to books. It should be up to the reader whether or not they read a book, not a group!
READ MORE:
- Pink’s near-fatal drug overdose at 16 sparked her music career
- Singer Pink shares a ‘leggy photo’ of her “thunder thighs” and her fans have some thoughts
