Pink to hand out 2,000 banned books at Florida shows
The mother of two says she is unwilling to stand by and watch while books are banned by schools.
Singer Pink will be sending a strong message to Florida officials when she visits the US state this week.
The 'Raise Your Glass' hitmaker will be handing out 2,000 banned books to concertgoers. Pink has selected books that have been banned from schools.
Florida schools are clamping down on books they deem unacceptable for children. The books include content about race, sexual orientation, violence, drugs, and strong language.
More than 300 titles have been removed from school libraries. According to Pen America, several books by authors such as Stephen King, Ellen Hopkins, and Anne Rice have been taken off the shelves.
Some popular titles include 'Game of Thrones', 'My Sister's Keeper', 'Forrest Gump', 'How Stella Got Her Groove Back', and 'The Color Purple'.
Pink has teamed up with Pen America and Books & Books to give away some of the titles to her fans.
“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,” the singer said in a statement.
Pink added that she supports PEN America's efforts to put an end to the censorship of books.
"It’s especially hateful to see authorities take aim at books about race and racism and against LGBTQ authors and those of color. We have made so many strides toward equality in this country and no one should want to see this progress reversed," the mother of two said.
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Pink started handing out the first 1,000 books at her show on Tuesday, November 14.
She is expected to give away the other 1,000 at her show on Wednesday.
"Did you know there have been nearly 6,000 book bans since the fall of 2021? And nearly 40% of the book bans in the last school year occurred in Florida? As a mom of two young readers, I can’t imagine letting someone else decide what MY CHILDREN can and cannot read!" the 44-year-old wrote on Instagram.
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Pink's fans have had mixed reactions to her stance.
"Love you pink, but my five-year-old doesn’t need to read books about sex & how to have sex. I’d like my child to actually have a childhood. My house is considered a library I have over 1,000 books in my house & around 200 of them are for his age group. I’m a lover of books & reading. But there's a line that was crossed when they decided to put books in elementary schools that are straight-up porn," one woman wrote.
Another fan commented: "We should be curious why a book is banned! Why ban a book? What are they afraid of? When a book is written, the author leaves a part of themselves in there, that on its own should be a reason to not ban books."
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Main image credit: Instagram/@pink