S132.
Black Thought under Attack
Saturday, March 11, 2023
10:35 am to 11:50 am
Across the country, Black authors and academics are being silenced by book bans. Join us as we examine the impact of these censorious challenges on authors, readers, and communities nationwide. Featuring Black children’s and young adult authors, as well as academics and poets, whose own works have been censored, this conversation examines what we as readers and writers can do to end the censorship of the next generation of Black writers, teachers, journalists, and activists.
Participants
Sabrina Adams is the PEN Across America program coordinator supporting the organization’s goal to mobilize PEN America communities nationwide to promote literary culture and defend free expression. She is a graduate of Loyola University Chicago with a BA in political science and a BBA in marketing.
Fatima Shaik's Economy Hall: The Hidden History of a Free Black Brotherhood was among Kirkus Best of 2021 and the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities Book of the Year. Former PEN America trustee, she has written for Callaloo, Tribes, The Root, In These Times, and the New York Times, among others.
Walidah Imarisha is an educator and a writer. She coedited Octavia's Brood: Science Fiction from Social Justice Movements, and authored Angels with Dirty Faces: Three Stories of Crime, Prison, and Redemption. She teaches in Portland State University's Black studies department.
