American pop star Pink to distribute 2000 banned books at upcoming concerts in protest to censorship

The state of Florida, where her Trustfall world tour is set to take place next, will be the biggest beneficiary of the book distribution after the Republican state became the epicentre of the banned books wave.

Describing herself as a voracious reader, Pink explained her thinking in an Instagram livestream.

"I can’t imagine my own parents telling me what my kids can and cannot read, let alone someone else’s parents, let alone someone else that doesn’t even have children that are deciding what my children can read,” she said.

Pink’s book distribution has been conceived together with the national free speech group PEN America. 

"Books have held a special joy for me from the time I was a child, and that's why I am unwilling to stand by and watch while books are banned by schools," Pink said in a statement released by the group.

"It's especially hateful to see authorities take aim at books about race and racism and against LGBTQ authors and those of colour. We have made so many strides toward equality in this country and no-one should want to see this progress reversed," she added. 

The 'So What' singer, in collaboration with PEN America, has chosen four titles to give away – Toni Morrison’s 'Beloved', Todd Parr’s 'The Family' Book, Stacia Deutsch’s 'Girls Who Code' and the poem recited by the poet Amanda Gorman at Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration in January 2021, 'The Hill We Climb' .

PEN America’s database of censored books recorded 3,362 book bans in US public schools in the last school year, involving 1,557 unique titles.

Of those, more than 40% – or 1,406 book ban cases – occurred in Florida school districts.

Under Republican governor Ron DeSantis, Florida has become a hotbed of challenges to free speech. The bill he signed into law last year, The Parental Rights in Education Act – commonly known as the 'Don’t Say Gay' law – prohibits elementary schools from discussing sexual orientation or gender identity.

Young poet Gorman’s soaring poem, 'The Hill We Climb', was written in the wake of the 2020 presidential election when she was just 22.

Gorman became the youngest inaugural poet at Biden’s inauguration, earning widespread critical acclaim.

The book of the poem was banned from an elementary school in Miami-Dade county in Florida in May following a complaint by just one parent - in her complaint the parent, Daily Salinas, misidentified Gorman as Oprah Winfrey.