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Banned Together Documentary Screening at the Drexel
Standing Up to Censorship Community Conversation
Tuesday, October 07
7:00pm - 9:30pm
Join us at the Drexel Theatre for a screening of Banned Together followed by a facilitated community conversation exploring the rise of book challenges and what we can do to stand up to censorship.
Celebrate Banned Books Week at the Drexel Theatre (2254 E Main St, Bexley, OH 43209) with a screening of the award-winning documentary Banned Together. The screening will be followed by a facilitated community conversation with local library professionals exploring the rise of book challenges and what we can do to stand up to censorship.
This program is presented in partnership with The Drexel Theatre.
About the Film:
A diverse cast of visionary teenagers, stirring public protests, private threats, criminal charges, and drama-filled school board meetings: this is the explosive world of BANNED TOGETHER. The film pulls back the curtain on two of the most controversial issues in America today: book bans and curriculum censorship in public schools.
BANNED TOGETHER follows three students as they fight to reinstate 97 books suddenly pulled from their school libraries. As they evolve from local to national activists, they meet with banned authors, politicians, and the major players protecting the First Amendment of our Constitution. Woven throughout the story about the student activists include Congressman Jamie Raskin; bestselling and banned authors like Juno Dawson, Jodi Picoult, Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, Erika L. Sánchez, and Ellen Hopkins; First Amendment warriors like Jonathan Friedman from PEN America and Deborah Caldwell-Stone from the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom; Prof. Justin Hansford, the Executive Director of the Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Center at Howard University School of Law; Olivia Little, a senior investigative researcher from Media Matters for America who's done in-depth reporting about Moms for Liberty since early 2021; organizations fighting on the front lines in Florida; Maurice Cunningham, author of "Dark Money and the Politics of School Privatization"; and IL Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias who wrote the first anti-book-ban legislation in the country… to name just a few!
About the Panelists:
Ben Heckman - Director of Bexley Public Library
Matina Bliss (she/they) - Communications and Programs Director of Honesty for Ohio Education
Zach Parish (he/him) - moderator - Programming & Partnership Coordinator of Bexley Public Library
AGE GROUP: | Adults |
EVENT TYPE: | Global and Cultural Awareness | Civics, Current Events, and History | Books Reading and Storytelling |
Bexley Public Library
Bexley Public Library was founded in 1924 and first housed in Bexley High School, now Montrose Elementary School. The present building opened in 1929 and was designed by architects O.C. Miller and R.R. Reeves who drew upon French and Italian architecture from the 17th century for the design.
The library is located at 2411 East Main Street, at the intersection of East Main Street and Cassady Avenue. Parking is available in our parking lot on Euclaire Avenue and in front of the library on Main Street. Main Street is a No Parking Tow Zone from 4:00-6:00 p.m. weekdays.