The Banned Books Club invites you to our Summer Reading Event We will be meeting virtually on August 10th to discuss Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama.

The Institute has a unique connection to EJI and the city of Montgomery. We regularly take folks on Truth and Purpose Learning Tours of the American South with Montgomery as our primary hub for place-based learning experiences in Alabama. We visit the EJI Legacy Sites and learn from current and former EJI attorney’s and staff.

The Institute for Common Power, the educational branch of Common Power, is inviting you to join our Banned Books Club. According to a PEN America report, the 2023-2024 school year recorded the highest instances of book bans and highest number of unique titles banned on record – over 4,000 unique titles were removed in over 10,000 instances of book bans. The Institute believes in the enduring power of books to provoke thought, challenge norms, and broaden perspectives. During our meetings of the Banned Books Club we will discuss race, identity, and freedom of expression as the club dives into the societal issues these books illuminate. 

In a world increasingly wary of uncomfortable truths, we believe in the right to read freely and believe that banning books is anathema to democracy. As with our overall organizational mission of safeguarding the vote, we also hold true that safeguarding the diversity of ideas is essential to a just and inclusive democracy.