Pulitzer Prize Winner, Nikole Hannah-Jones will return to her home town of Waterloo, Iowa with fellow renowned authors to read their books that have been banned in public schools and libraries

Nikole Hannah-Jones/Shutterstock

Don’t miss the opportunity to meet several renowned authors at the 1619 Freedom Schools’ youth read-in on July 18th at West High School, from 11 AM to 1 PM in Waterloo, Iowa.

The authors who will be present include Waterloo’s own—2020 Pulitzer Prize winner Nikole Hannah-Jones, an esteemed journalist for The New York Times, better known for her contribution to the award-winning book The 1619 Project and Hulu's The 1619 Project documentary, which was executive-produced by Oprah Winfrey.

She will be joined by authors Jason Reynolds, Angie Thomas, and Renée Watson. Nikole is also the founder of The 1619 Freedom School in Waterloo, and will join these authors to read and discuss their works, which have been banned from library circulation and some public schools.

According to PEN America, 596 books were banned by the Department of Defense, which included titles on Democracy, Feminism, and Racism. Book restrictions and removals significantly spiked under President Trump's current administration, based on his executive orders about gender ideology and diversity. Nikole, Jason, and Renée all had books that were banned during this process.

Photo/Alamy

Jason is the author of several novels, especially All American Boys, which he co-wrote with Brendan Kiely, about two boys who were facing racism and police brutality. He wrote He's been awarded the Carnegie Medal of Writing, among many other honors. A lot of his material focuses on the black male experience in America, in connection with racism and injustice. He also wrote a Marvel Comics novel called Miles Morales: Spider-Man about an Afro-Latino teen who succeeded Peter Parker as Spider-Man after Parker died.

Library of Congress

Angie Thomas authored The Hate U Give, among other books, such as Concrete Rose. She is also a creative producer and social activist. Angie has won the Coretta Scott King Book Award and the William C. Morris Award among other honors. Two of her novels,  The Hate U Give and On the Come Up, became motion pictures in 2018 and 2022.

IMDb

Renée Watson is a poet and author. She co-authored The 1619 Project: Born on the Water with Nikole. This book is a children's picture book adapted from the original project. It discusses the evolution of Black Americans from slavery. She's also a New York Times bestselling author who has sold over 1 million copies. She's received the John Newbery Medal among other honors.

Reneewatson.net

Register for this event via http://bit.ly/2026-Readln.

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