PEN America’s Freedom To Read Student Summit – West Hollywood Library

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PEN America and LA County Library are excited to announce our Freedom to Read Student Summit at West Hollywood Library for Banned Books Week 2024! In this convening, high school students will be welcomed to engage with each other and youth advocacy leaders from PEN America in a series of workshops designed to discuss and counter growing threats to the freedom to read in California and nationwide.

Join us in person at West Hollywood Library on Saturday, September 28 from 11:00 am – 3:00 pm for our youth activism workshops and catered lunch. At our Summit, student attendees will be able to learn the latest nationwide book ban data collected by PEN America, assess emerging censorship trends, and discuss ways to effectively advocate for free expression and access to diverse literature in our communities.

Our special guests include Pickle, the Drag Laureate of the City of West Hollywood, and the Golden State Readers, a youth-led group of freedom to read advocates from across California who will discuss their #BreakTheTape caution tape awareness campaign and ways that students can become campaign ambassadors during Banned Books Week.

This event is open to all high school students and is free to attend. Lunch will be provided. Capacity is limited so please register as soon as possible. If you have any questions, please contact us at [email protected].

PROGRAM ITINERARY:

Participants:

Pickle is a live-singing, drag queen host, entertainer, and storyteller. A Los Angeles native, she attended Hamilton High School Academy of Music before receiving her BA in Liberal Arts from Sarah Lawrence College. Pickle has focused on blending education initiatives into her drag work and runs the LA chapter of Drag Story Hour. She has partnered with many organizations, including the Academy Museum, the Aquarium of the Pacific, the City of West Hollywood, the Independent Shakespeare Company, LA County Library, LA Public Library, LACMA, the Music Center, Tinder, and many more, to present unique and dynamic drag programming. Pickle is dedicated to expanding drag as a medium both for herself and for the community as a whole. She has appeared on television on NBC’s The Weakest Link, the Discovery Channel’s Dodgeball Thunderdome, and Tyler Perry’s Sistas. She is the first Drag Laureate of the City of West Hollywood. Learn more at www.pickledragqueen.com.

Nicholas “Niko” Perez (he/him) is the program manager of free expression and education at PEN America. Perez leads Next Gen PEN America, PEN America’s campaign dedicated to empowering a new generation of free expression advocates and building a youth advocacy network that can work together to facilitate positive change. Perez previously worked for the Columbia University Human Rights Advocates Program and consulted for the Human Rights Education and Training section at the United Nations. He holds a master’s degree from Columbia University in human rights and humanitarian policy and a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University in international politics. He also was a Global Leadership Fellow at Waseda University in Japan, a Model United Nations advisor at Mira Costa High School, and a forensics researcher for the Yahad-in Unum genocide research agency.

Partners:

Founded in 1912, LA County Library is one of the largest and most innovative library systems in the US. It provides culturally responsive and dynamic collections, programs, and services to meet the literacy, information, personal enrichment, and entertainment needs of all residents across Los Angeles County. 

The Golden State Readers are a growing network of students from across California committed to raising awareness about freedom-to-read issues nationwide. They work locally to educate, advocate, and fundraise to provide diverse and banned literature to students impacted by book bans.

SPONSORED BY:

Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath represents the 3rd supervisorial district of Los Angeles County which is home to more than two million people. The district covers 446.08 square miles and stretches from the Ventura County line to West Hollywood and the city of San Fernando, including portions of 10 cities, 26 unincorporated communities and 49 neighborhoods in the city of Los Angeles.

LA County Library Foundation, founded in 1982, raises funds and creates partnerships to support LA County Library and the millions of children, teens, and adults whose lives it enriches with free programs, services, and resources. The Library is a dynamic and unifying force for Los Angeles County, with the Library Foundation a vital partner.