Exclusive: Nikole Hannah-Jones Talks About Her Mission to Put Challenged Books Directly Into the Hands of Children in Iowa

Books by writers of color have been under attack by conservative activists who want to remove their works from libraries and schools around the country. As the Trump administration has rolled out a series of rollbacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, the book bans are showing no signs of slowing down. Today, the state of Iowa is second only to Florida, as more than 3,000 titles by writers, including Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison and Angie Thomas, were removed under SF 496, a 2023 state law.

The Root spoke exclusively with Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist, creator of “The 1619 Project” and Iowa native Nikole Hannah-Jones about what she’s doing to ensure students and families in her home state have access to books that tell Black stories.

On July 18, Jones will be joined by bestselling authors Jason Reynolds, Angie Thomas and Renée Watson for the 1619 Freedom School Read-In, a free event featuring panel discussions, readings and live engagement with the authors. And the best part – attendees will go home with free copies of some of their well-known books. The event, now in its second year, is personal for Jones, who is concerned that her state, once a leader in education, is now removing access to books that are important to history and culture.

“I was born and raised in Iowa, and I’m a product of Iowa public schools. But our state has made a rightward turn since the second election of Barack Obama. We have seen such a massive regression, both in terms of support for public education and the freedom to read,” she said.

Related: Beloved Black Banned Books You Must Read Now

Jones started the 1619 Freedom School, a free after-school program in her hometown of Waterloo, Iowa, in 2021 to address the issue of literacy and the racial achievement gap in the area. As the state has passed a host of anti-DEI laws, she believes it isn’t a coincidence that most of the books targeted by bans are written by a person of color or try to address the country’s history of racism. The Read-In is a way to allow local families to remain engaged with Black authors and the books that are being removed from schools and libraries.

Jones says she was intentional about asking Jason Reynolds, Angie Thomas and Renee Watson – authors who are beloved by young readers and whose works have been heavily targeted in the state. And while Waterloo isn’t the easiest place to get to, she says they were all happy to participate.

“I happen to be lucky enough to be friends with lots of great writers. I also think people just want to feel that they can exercise resistance to these efforts to stop our children from being able to read whatever it is that interests them,” she said.

When asked about the long-term impact of the book bans, Jones says she believes lawmakers’ endgame is to promote a narrative that stories about straight white people are the only ones worth telling.

“We know that anytime you see a kind of burgeoning autocratic regime, one of the first things they do is target marginalized communities. They target books because they help us gain empathy and understanding of people who are different. They also try to control the narrative to justify their power. So when we talk about book bans, it’s not accidental that the books most targeted are books about queer children and queer people and Black Americans,” she said. “We know why they’re doing this. They want to be able to control how we understand our country. They really want to shrink our children’s collective imagination.”

Jones says reading gave her access to the world beyond her hometown, eventually inspiring “The 1619 Project.”

“I often talk about a Black studies course I took at my Iowa public high school. My teacher gave me the book, ‘Before the Mayflower,’” she said. “Without ‘Before the Mayflower,’ ‘The 1619 Project’ wouldn’t exist. That is the book that introduced me to the year 1619 and all of this history that could be told. So I think when you look at me as an example, you understand why these book bans happen, right? It’s to take someone like me and limit what is possible.”

Jones stressed that access to books should be an idea that everyone can support, regardless of their political views.

“It’s so important to understand that we don’t have to agree with every text. We don’t have to agree with every idea, but we should all be aligned on understanding that a free society does not ban books. Whether I like the ideas or not, those ideas deserve to be exposed,” she said. “I think that this is something that all of us, no matter what our politics are, should be aligned on.”

To register for The 1619 Freedom School Read-In, click here:

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