Just Say Gay

Pink is giving Ron DeSantis the middle finger at her Florida tour stops

Come to a Pink concert for the acrobatics. Stay for the banned books.

As Florida slips further and further into insanity, the “Trustfall” singer is doing her part to fight back. Pink is standing up to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ conservative policies, including egregious book bans and the infamous “Don’t Say Gay” bills, by handing out banned books at her Florida concert dates.

“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,” Pink said in a press release. “It’s especially hateful to see authorities take aim at books about race and racism and against LGBTQ authors and those of color.”

At her planned stops in Miami and Sunrise, Florida, on November 13 and 14, Pink is handing out four books from PEN America’s Index of Banned Books: Amanda Gorman’s The Hill We Climb, Toni Morrison’s Beloved, Stacia Deutsch’s Girls Who Code, and Todd Parr’s The Family Book, notable for its early depiction of same-sex couples and family structures in children’s literature.

Pink is distributing the books in collaboration with PEN and Florida-based bookstore Books & Books. In an analysis of the 2022-23 school year, PEN found that 3,362 books were banned in schools across America, a 33% increase from the previous year. Of those bans, more than 40% took place in school districts in Florida, where a staggering 1,406 books were taken off the shelves.

“We have made so many strides toward equality in this country and no one should want to see this progress reversed,” Pink said in her statement. “This is why I am supporting PEN America in its work and why I agree with them: no more banned books.”

“We are thrilled to be working with P!nk on this important cause,” said Kasey Meehan, director of PEN America’s Freedom to Read Program, in the same statement. “Every child deserves access to literature that reflects their lives. Rampant censorship is depriving kids of the chance to see themselves in books and learn about the world and its history.”

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