Standing Up to Censorship - A Panel Discussion with author and upstander Maggie Tokuda-Hall

Date and Time for this Past Event

Saturday, Oct 7, 2023 7pm

Location

Details

Maggie Tokuda-Hall stood up to the publishing industry when she refused to remove references to racism in her book about Minidoka Interment Camps.

Maggie Tokuda-Hall will share her experiences and insights on standing up against censorship in conversation with Erin Kennedy, Intellectual Freedom Chair of the Idaho Library Association.
Registration required for this event. 100% of "pay-as-you-can" donations for tickets will got directly to Idaho Library Association.

During the panel, Maggie Tokuda-Hall will share her experiences and insights on standing up against censorship. As an accomplished author, she understands the power of words and the importance of defending free expression.

Scholastic wanted to license her 2022 children's book Love in the Library. The deal would draw a wider audience to her book — a love story set in a World War II incarceration camp for Japanese Americans and inspired by her grandparents, about the improbable joy found "in a place built to make people feel like they weren't human."

Then she read Scholastic's suggested revisions to her book, included in the same email as the offer news. Her excitement at the opportunity was almost immediately tempered.

The publisher's only suggested edit was to the author's note: Scholastic had crossed out a key section that references "the deeply American tradition of racism" to describe the tale's real-life historical backdrop — a time when the U.S. government forcibly relocated more than 120,000 Japanese Americans to dozens of internment sites from 1942-1945.

Scholastic gave its reasons for the suggested change in an email to the author and her original publisher, Candlewick Press, citing a "politically sensitive" moment for its market and a worry that the section "goes beyond what some teachers are willing to cover with the kids in their elementary classrooms."

"This could lead to teachers declining to use the book, which would be a shame," Scholastic's email said.

The deal with Scholastic was contingent on not only nixing that section, according to the author, but removing the word "racism" from the author's note entirely. (NPR)

Rediscovered Books is the perfect venue for this event. Located in a cozy corner of town, it offers a welcoming atmosphere for book lovers and advocates of free speech alike. Don't miss this opportunity to engage in a thought-provoking conversation and celebrate the freedom of expression with bookstore co-owner Laura DeLaney, Maggie Tokuda-Hall, ILA Intellectual Freedom Chair Erin Kennedy, and Wassmuth Youth Center leader.