Pink has partnered up with Pen America – an advocacy group for free expression – to give away 2,000 banned books at her concerts in South Florida.
The So What songstress has thrown her hat in the ring regarding the row about certain books being removed from Floridian libraries and classrooms.
Literature that contains mentions of sexuality, gender identity, and race are being stripped away from classrooms in the state, according to the BBC.
Florida authorities claim they are not banning books but blocking inappropriate and harmful material.
In a video with Pen America, the singer branded the move as ‘confusing’, ‘infuriating’, and ‘censorship’.
‘I’m a voracious reader, and I’m a mom of two kids who are also voracious readers,’ revealed the rock star.
‘And I can’t imagine my own parents telling me what my kids can and cannot read, let alone someone else’s parents.
‘Let alone someone else that doesn’t even have children that are deciding what my children can read.’
PEN America claim that Florida has banned more books than any other state in the US, making up 40% of documented prohibited works.
In a joint statement with Pen America, the starlet wrote: ‘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.’
‘It’s especially hateful to see authorities take aim at books about race and racism and against LGBTQ authors and those of colour.
She continued: ‘We have made so many strides toward equality in this country and no-one should want to see this progress reversed.’
Attendees at the musician’s Miami and Sunrise, Florida dates of her Trustfall Tour, will be handed books that have appeared Pen America’s Index of Banned Books.
Tomorrow and Wednesday, Pink concertgoers are set to receive copies of The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman, Beloved by Toni Morrison, The Family Book by Todd Parr and Girls Who Code by Reshma Saujani.
Book bans across the US were up by a third according to the literature advocacy group, Pen America reports, with nearly half of Floridian school districts experiencing book removals.
While the Department of Education in Florida has maintained it ‘does not ban books’, governor Ron DeSantis has branded the claim as a ‘hoax’.
In a written statement earlier from earlier this year, he said: ‘Florida is the education state and that means providing students with a quality education free from sexualization and harmful materials that are not age appropriate.’
‘Exposing the ‘book ban’ hoax is important because it reveals that some are attempting to use our schools for indoctrination
He added: ‘In Florida, pornographic and inappropriate materials that have been snuck into our classrooms and libraries to sexualize our students violate our state education standards.’
Manny Diaz Jr, Florida’s Commissioner of Education shared the following in March on X – formerly known as Twitter.
‘Students should be spending their time in school learning core academic subjects, not being force-fed radical gender and sexual ideology.’
Education areas have used a Florida state law labelled by some as Don’t Say Gay bill, to prohibit the teaching of gender identity and sexual orientation, according to the BBC.
In 2022, another statute was brought in stating school books should be pornography free and age appropriate.
The law also stipulated that literature must be ‘suited to student needs’ and approved by a trained individual from the Department of Education.
The statute gives parents with more power to ask literature be removed.
An additional law was welcomed in 2022, barring the ‘far-left woke agenda’s’ from ‘tak[ing] over our schools and workplaces’ said Mr DeSantis said regarding the education of race issues.
