During a passionate gathering at the 2024 Right to Read Celebration, held in Miami’s premier art museum along the Biscayne Bay, the battle against censorship and book bans took center stage. As Florida contends with a staggering number of banned books, the June 8 event aimed to rally supporters and honor those fighting against the suppression of literature.

“Thank you all for being reasonable, literate, book-loving Americans on the right side of this historic battle against censorship,” said MSNBC’s Katie Phang, setting the tone for the evening that was organized by The New Republic.

Phang emphasized the alarming trend of book bans sweeping across America with 4,240 unique titles banned last year across the U.S., an increase of almost 65% since 2022. According to data from the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF), titles representing the voices and lived experiences of LGBTQIA+ people and BIPOC made up 47% of those targeted in censorship attempts. Phang drew parallels to past eras of censorship, invoking literary giants like Mark Twain, Virginia Woolf, and Toni Morrison, whose works continue to face suppression.

The event honored booksellers, teachers, librarians, writers, and organizations working tirelessly to make books available in places where they are being challenged and banned with the Toni Morrison Awards for Courage, named after the Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning author known for her advocacy of free speech.

“It’s important to amplify how prevalent and destructive these book bans are,” said National Book Award-winning author Jacqueline Woodson. “From the East Coast to the West Coast, from north to south, we are finding bans and challenges in every state in the U.S. This is devastating for our young people whose choices about what they can read become more limited with every ban. And it is devastating for all people because it’s an attempt at erasure. Of our stories. Of our histories. Of truth.”

Woodson was one of the 15 recipients of the award, in addition to Texas booksellers Valerie Koehler and Charley Rejsek, organizations including Miami Freedom Project, Moms for Libros, and PRISM FL, among others.

The event also featured panels discussing the state of the nation from the perspective of teachers and librarians and with writers whose books are regularly challenged. In one panel, Katie Blankenship of PEN America highlighted the gravity of the situation in Florida, where discriminatory legislation has targeted marginalized communities and eroded academic freedom. Despite the challenges, she expressed optimism in the resilience of Floridians fighting against censorship.

Another panel, featuring teacher Renee O’Connor and authors Ellen Hopkins, George M. Johnson, and Jacqueline Woodson, delved into their personal experiences and the impact of their works on readers across the nation.

“What used to be in the dark is now in the light,” said Johnson, an award-winning Black nonbinary writer. “And so I feel like this is just part of my duty to shine a light on these people who existed and never got to live their lives in which I get to do right now.”

Johnson, whose memoir All Boys Aren’t Blue has garnered acclaim and controversy, discussed the importance of representation and visibility in literature, particularly for marginalized communities. His upcoming project, Flamboyants: The Queer Harlem Renaissance I Wish I’d Known, aims to shine a light on the often overlooked contributions of LGBTQIA+ individuals throughout history.

“I was always trying to find bits and pieces of myself in heterosexual characters, and now I get to put these queer characters back into the world,” said Johnson. “They try to act like we’re some new phenomena when, realistically, we’re just more public now.”

Woodson, acclaimed for her award-winning children’s books, shared the inspiration behind her acclaimed work The Day You Begin. Rooted in personal experiences, the book delicately navigates themes of diversity and acceptance, providing young readers with a poignant exploration of identity and belonging.

“I got braver with what stories I wanted to tell,” Woodson said. “And I think I got braver in the world of understanding that story isn’t just narrative on the page. It is the way we nurture other writers of the global community. It’s the way we put ourselves out there to fight what we think is wrong in the world.”

Just days after the event on June 10, a group of parents filed a lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration after one of the parents wasn’t allowed to defend a book that was removed from the shelves in their school district. Meanwhile, in Texas, an appeals court ordered Llano County to return 17 books back to their shelves, including books that deal with racism and transgender issues, following a lawsuit by library patrons.

“This ban isn’t just about the books, but it’s about the war on women’s bodies, it’s about the war on Black folks, you know, all of this is connected,” Woodson said. “We need to speak up. And our characters can do that for us.”