At a time when censorship attempts and banned books have rapidly accelerated, Interfaith is prepared to take action to support access to books and the important civic values enshrined in the 1st Amendment.
Interfaith understands that censorship is a direct attack on our shared values of education and intellectual freedom. Censorship efforts seek to erase diverse experiences and stories from the discourse in our communities, schools, and homes.
FREE TO READ reflects our mission to educate, advocate, and catalyze social change by:
- combating censorship and threats to intellectual and religious freedom
- fostering civic engagement on 1st amendment rights, and
- affirming the value of diverse experiences and stories
The FREE TO READ model involves access to books by:
- booksellers who can facilitate purchase and delivery of books to participants
- access to titles available in library systems
- donations of books directly to participants
- Advocacy tools to help CO communities combat censorship
- Providing “Book Club” opportunities to read and participate in dialogue
- Providing access to books targeted by challenges and censorship, particularly those targeted in an effort to silence marginalized experiences
Every quarter, participants will be offered an opportunity to read a selected book. Discussion guides, select programming opportunities, and advocacy tools take participants beyond the role of reader.