10 Actions to Fight Book Bans

The number of challenged and banned books in the United States has soared in recent years. According to Pen America, there were 22,810 instances of banned books in U.S. public schools from 2021 to 2025. Books have also been removed from libraries, museum shops, and even the United States Defense Department schools. The majority of titles that have been targeted contain themes about race, gender, or sexuality -- in effect erasing or decreasing access to important stories, identities, experiences, and history. We must fight this censorship! To help us all take action and make a difference, Just Us Books has created the Banned Books Pledge.

I Pledge To:

1. Read more banned children's books.

2. Introduce 5-10 different banned children's books to educators, librarians, bookstore managers and parents-anyone who has influence and/or power to help increase the number of these books within our body of children's literature. 

3. Donate banned children's books to youth organizations, literacy programs and youth community groups. 

4. Prioritize buying these books from independent publishers, independent bookstores and vendors. 

5. Support and get involved with organizations like the Banned Books Week Coalition, Authors Against Book Bans, The Kids' Right to Read Project and other efforts to fight censorship in kidlit. 

6. When visiting a bookstore or library, encourage managers to include more banned children's books. Take the initiative to purchase or borrow from the library at least one banned book to show my commitment to supporting these books. 

7. Encourage educators and administrators to include banned books among their classroom resources. 

8. Encourage book reviewers and bloggers to include banned books among the titles they spotlight. 

9. Publicly celebrate banned books, including sharing them on social media, book review sites and through personal recommendations.

10. Encourage others to take this pledge.

RESOURCES
PEN America Banned in the USA. The Normalization of Book Banning
AuthorsAgainstBookBans

BANNED BOOK LISTS

Jane Addams Peace Association
BooksandAuthors Freely We Read: Picture Books Middle Grade Books Young Adult

PEN America

HuffPo

Black Business Month - A Time for Action

 

Black Business Month (August) is almost here, and it’s not only a time for celebration, it’s a time for action. Black-owned businesses are a vital component of society — driving innovation, creating jobs, contributing to the community, and in the case of publishing — sharing and preserving important stories, history, and culture. When Frederick E. Jordan and John William Templeton founded Black Business Month in 2004, their goal was not only to recognize Black-owned businesses and their contributions but to “drive the policy agenda” given the unique challenges Black business owners face.  For Jordan, one of those big challenges was lack of access to capital, which continues to be a hurdle today. Add to that budget cuts, book bans, growing opposition to inclusive books and history, and a strained economy and indeed it’s a challenging time. To continue making an impact, Black businesses need sustained investment. As we navigate this climate as entrepreneurs at Just Us Books, we’re also doing all that we can to uplift our fellow Black businesses, including: -More intentional spending. We prioritize Black, small and local businesses for everything from printing for our books to catering for our events. -Growing our networks. We want to be able to find the businesses we need and recommend them to others, even if we don’t require their products or services at the time.  -Use our platforms to amplify. We post businesses on social media, highlight them in every newsletter, and use our events and other channels to spread the word. What’s an action you’re taking to invest in Black owned businesses? We’d love to hear your ideas. For more suggestions, check out: 9 Ways to Support Black-Owned Businesses  Pictured above: Just Us Books founders Wade and Cheryl Hudson with fellow publishers, Haki Madhubuti, founder of Third World Press Foundation and Paul Coates, founder of Black Classic Press, at the Havana International Bookfair in Cuba.

Remembering Tony Rose

We remember fellow book publisher, Tony Rose, who passed away at the age of 74. 

Following a successful career in the music industry, Tony founded Amber Books with his wife Yvonne in 1996, specializing in self-help and music biographies. Amber went on to publish more than 1,000 titles, including African Americans and the Future of New Orleans: Rebirth, Renewal and Rebuilding. Under Tony’s leadership it also won numerous honors such as an NAACP Image Award for Literature and the Harlem Book Fair Wheatley Book Awards “Publisher of the Year.”

In addition to publishing, Tony wrote several books including A Guy Named Maurice Starr and America: The Black Point of View. For years, he led the African American Pavilion at Book Expo America, ensuring a much-needed platform for Black publishers in the leading industry conference. 

“Tony brought boundless energy and a deep commitment to the Black book publishing community,” says Wade Hudson, CEO and cofounder of Just Us Books. “At Just Us Books, we had the opportunity work with him on numerous initiatives focused on building the Black book ecosystem. He will be missed.”

We extend our love and condolences to Yvonne, Tony’s entire family and his loved ones. 

Read more about Tony and his work here.

Whose Story Are You Sharing?

It’s Women’s History Month, a celebration dedicated to learning about and sharing women’s many — and often untold — contributions to society. We honor women who have played, and are playing, an important role in leading, healing, teaching, advocating, and blazing trails to make our world better. Women like Susie King Taylor.  

Born into slavery in Georgia, she learned how to read and write in secret as a child. At the age of 14, she founded a school for Black children. She soon expanded her talents to nursing, caring for Black troops during the Civil War and teaching many of them how to read and write. Years later she wrote her own story — the only firsthand account of the lives and experiences of Black Civil War soldiers written by a Black woman. This amazing leader’s story is told for young readers in Susie King Taylor: Destined to Be Free, and it’s just one. There are so many more women whose stories deserve to be told, not only this month, but all year long.  

Whose stories are you sharing?

Recommended reading:

Great Women in the Struggle

Brave. Black. First. 50+ African American Women Who Changed the World

Susie King Taylor: Destined to Be Free

Doing the Work

Founders Wade Hudson, Cheryl Willis Hudson, Paul Coates,
Haki Madhubuti and Kassahoun Checole speak at IBPA's
Legends of Black Independent Publishing panel

As we start the second week of Black History Month, we hope this post will be an encouraging reminder of companies that are doing the work. Institutions that have made sharing our stories their mission. Black-owned publishers that celebrate Black people, Black culture, and Black histories in their books all year round. We’re proud to be one of them.

Let’s pour into these institutions! Read their books. Buy directly from their websites if you can. (Many carry titles that are difficult to get elsewhere.) Recommend their books. Check them out at your local library, and if they’re not on the shelves — request them. Share and comment on their social media posts. Sign up for their mailing lists. Spread the word about the work they’re doing.

Third World Press - the oldest Black publishing company in the world. Founded in 1967, it’s one of the last-remaining Black Arts Movement institutions. https://thirdworldpressfoundation.org

Black Classic Press - founded in 1978 and devoted to publishing obscure and significant works by and about people of African descent. https://www.blackclassicbooks.com

Africa World Press - in business since 1983, its mission is to provide high quality literature on the history, culture, politics of Africa and the African Diaspora. https://africaworldpressbooks.com

Just Us Books - founded in 1988, we publish children’s books that center and celebrate Black people, history and culture. https://justusbooks.com

Amber Communications - the largest African American publisher of self-help books and music biographies. http://amberbookspublishing.com

Dare to Be King - provides services and products, including books and workshops, to help inspire and support boys of color. https://daretobeking.net

Universal Write Publications - publishes a variety of topics through the framework of Black scholars who write through the African lens. https://uwpbooks.com 

Urban Ministries, Inc. - publisher of books, magazines, curricula, and more for African and African American churches since 1970.  https://urbanministries.com

And this is just a start. Comment below to shout out other Black-owned book publishers that are doing this important work!

Back to Our Roots

Wade and Cheryl Hudson present at an event hosted by
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority at the Portsmouth Public Library (1988)

When we started Just Us Books in 1988, we used a grassroots approach to connect with readers and market our company. We knew we could not depend on the traditional book publishing ecosystem — the same one that told us there was no market for our books. We were a Black-owned start-up publishing books with Black characters and about the Black experience. A small indie without a footprint in the industry. Even getting an audience to showcase our books was a major hurdle.

So, we did what our ancestors had done before us. John Russwurm and Samuel B. Cornish, editors of Freedom’s Journal, the first Black newspaper published in this country, distributed the paper directly to Black communities. Langston Hughes took his published works to the people. Johnson Publishing Company, whose list of publications included Ebony, Black Digest, and Jet focused on the Black market.

We did too. We took our books to daycare centers, church events, cultural festivals, libraries, and conferences held by Black organizations. A major component of our marketing strategy also included nurturing relationships with the then-growing number of Black-owned bookstores. Soon after, we expanded to exhibit at professional conferences such as those organized by the American Library Association, National Education Association, and American Booksellers Association and were able to reach more libraries, educators, and book buyers.

There was a profound sense of unity and common purpose back then. And in some pockets of communities, there still is. But social media has displaced many previous marketing avenues. There are fewer indie retailers. The kidlit industry has achieved some mainstream success and perceived success. And while community events remained a cornerstone for us, along the way, our investment in other grassroots tactics declined.

Laura Freeman and Useni Perkins sign their book
Kwame Nkrumah's Midnight Speech for Independence
for students in DC. (2023)

But the numerous social and political challenges and uncertainties make it clear: we need to get back to our (grass)roots. In the Akan tradition, the Sankofa symbol reminds us to look to the past to build a stronger future. For us, that future is one based on strong community, meaningful impact, mutual support, and of course lots of great books!

Getting back to our roots can mean more in-person events; less social media and more posting on our platforms (our blog, newsletter and website); and doing more to stay connected with fellow creators and entrepreneurs.

How are you working to strengthen community in 2025 and beyond? We’d love to hear your thoughts below.