Community members gather at a book giveaway table, part of the Literary Liberation Day at the University of Redlands Oct. 10, 2025. (Photo by Siw Heede/CFR)
Two local grassroots organizations, Swap and Meet Redlands and Safe Redlands Schools, teamed up with the University of Redlands to provide free books to students, followed by a panel discussion on banned books.
Brittny Cotton, campus visit manager and parent, reached out to English professor Heather King to ask whether she thought the campus could be opened up to local high school students for Banned Book Week.
This resulted in a new Literary Liberation Day event on Friday, Oct. 10, not previously programmed during Banned Book Week.
Mutual aid meets literacy advocacy
Table for free kids books (Photo by Siw Heede/CFR)
“We raised money through Frugal Frigate, where we allowed people to purchase gift certificates,” Cotton said. “Our goal was $1,000 and we exceeded that.”
They purchased books to donate that have been banned in the US. Each category of books for either children, teens, or young adults were clearly marked on tables in front of the Armacost Library.
There were additional books available through a book swap.
The library was open for people to read quietly, dubbed the Introverts Book Club, hosted by the National Coalition Against Censorship.
“The difficulty with mutual aid is that we feel like we have to have a certain threshold or certain level of need,” said Valerie Taber, organizer with Swap and Meet Redlands.
She explained the mutual aid they provide, “When you are only giving, that is charity, when you are also participating in receiving, that is where mutual aid comes in.”
“That is what creates the sense of community,” she added.
A stream of college students and community members passed the tables in front of the library. About a dozen people stayed for the discussion.
Panel explores the impact of book bans
The panel at the Friday event from left, Brittny Cotton, J.D. Mathes II, Alana Poyneer and Heather King. (Photo by Siw Heede)
Speakers from PEN America, the University of Redlands and the local writing community discussed how censorship limits understanding and undermines democracy.
The panel included: local Redlands author J.D. Mathes II, English professor Heather King, Senior English major Alana Poyneer and Cotton.
Mathes works with PEN America, an organization that “works to ensure that people everywhere have the freedom to create literature, to convey information and ideas, to express their views, and to access the views, ideas, and literatures of others,” according to their website. PEN America provided slides for the discussion.
“It has been a growing trend of removing books,” Cotton said in the introduction, explaining the new policies being implemented at the Redlands Unified School District that make removing books from the school libraries easier. “It’s not just about books, it’s about people’s rights to exist, it’s about POC, queer, trans, and anybody that doesn’t align with a certain narrative,” she said, “I call it de-diversifying.”
Professor King explained the difference between a challenged and a banned book, and where to get more information.
“If you go to the American Library Association’s website, they keep lists of the top ten banned books with the reasons why and it gets kind of crazy, on both sides.”
“1984 by George Orwell is the most banned book [in history] followed by Huckleberry Finn, which was a must-read when I was in school,” Cotton said.
The panel talked about the dangers of only providing one narrative and how it historically assists in the creation of fascism. They also talked about the troubles with people not reading these days.
“Public schools and public libraries are where people who might not [otherwise] have access to books,” King said. “But how many people have phones with unlimited access to the internet? It’s closing the barn door after the horse got out to start worrying about the books that are on the shelves.”
The message: keep reading, keep resisting
Panelists emphasized that the simple act of reading—and sharing stories—remains one of the most powerful ways to stand against censorship.
“Every day I give up hope, but then I get back in the chair and get writing again,” said Mathes. It was from an interview he gave to PEN America about his upcoming memoir that addresses the problems of mass-incarceration.
Mathes went with PEN America to Los Angeles to talk to high school students to whom he said, “You are a group of people who can get together and advocate for yourselves.”
A few high school students were present at the event. “It’s really important for students, especially our age – in high school and middle school – to know what is going on,” said Zoe, who attends the Grove High School in Redlands. “It’s good to hear other perspectives. And you gotta have hope.”
“Read, read, read. That is the most defiant thing you can do right now,” King said in her closing remarks.
Books that were not distributed that night will be handed out at future events.
Siw is the ultimate cheerleader of what happens in Redlands. She is a dual citizen (Danish and American) who likes to write about what is new as much as about the things we take for granted.
