Women Freed Between the Lines: 2024 Banned Books Read Out with NYCLU

Every year, Albany Public Library participates in Banned Books Week to highlight the power of communities uniting to resist censorship. In collaboration with the New York Civil Liberties Union - Capital Region Office, APL is proud to host - Women: Freed Between the Lines. 

This year will focus on drawing attention to how books impact our freedom and the need to continue to support the access of diverse voices related to the experience of women in our country and communities. The event will include representation from local community groups, including the League of Women Voters. In addition, local performers, poets, and musicians will perform excerpts from banned and challenged books written by women with a strong focus on works by marginilized authors.

The event will provide an overview of the challenges related to intellectual freedom and the status of banned and challenged books, as well as incorporate an update on the work related to the Equal Rights Amendment to give women the constitutional affirmation of their rights for which they have long struggled. 

The excerpts are poignant reminders of the impact the access of women's voices have on communities and future generations. 

The ACLU has acknowledged:  “During the last three decades, women have made extraordinary gains toward establishing full equality. - But without the Equal Rights Amendment, those gains are all too subject to the whims of Congress and the courts. Passage of the ERA is the next logical step toward guaranteeing equality for women." 

*Presented in Partnership with NYCLU- Capital Reagion Office and the League of Women Voters of Albany County, Planned Parenthood and Albany (NY) Alumnae Chapter, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc

**This program is made possible by the Freedom To Read Foundation Judith F. Krug Banned Books Week grant