Pink to Give Away Banned Books at Florida Shows

Singer-songwriter Pink plans to distribute 2,000 banned books during her performances in South Florida this week.

Through the initiative, in partnership with free expression advocacy group PEN America, fans attending shows in Miami and Sunrise, Florida, on Tuesday and Wednesday will receive copies of books appearing on PEN America's Index of Banned Books.

"I'm a voracious reader, and I'm a mom of two kids who are also voracious readers," Pink said during a livestream on Instagram on Sunday. "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."

Among the books being distributed are copies of "The Family Book" by Todd Parr; "The Hill We Climb" by Amanda Gorman; and "Beloved" by Toni Morrison. 

Pink shared that her decision to collaborate with PEN America and the local bookstore, Books & Books, to provide books was part of a campaign to draw attention to the growing trend of book censorship in Florida.

"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," she said in a statement, according to CNN.

During the livestream Sunday, Suzanne Nossel, CEO of PEN America, said she was thankful Pink joined the cause.

"This is a wave that is taking over our country, our schools, our libraries. [They] are going after books about children of color, stories of LGBTQ families, books about babies, about animals," Nossel said. "This is censorship in its purest form. It is meant to suppress narratives that we need here as a pluralistic society and so we have to push back."

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