Miami, Sept. 16, 2019 – Miami Dade College’s (MDC) Learning Resources Department joins librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, educators, and readers everywhere in celebration of Banned Books Week, Sept. 22 – 28. This year’s theme is “Censorship Leaves Us in the Dark. Keep the Light On!”
MDC’s libraries are dedicated to increase awareness of the annual celebration of the freedom to read. Banned Books Week was launched in the 1980s and advocates to draw national attention to the harms of censorship.
Below is a list of MDC Banned Books Week events:
ALL WEEK
Read the Resistance: Banned and Challenged Books Display
Eduardo J. Padrón Campus, Learning Commons, Room 6011
627 SW 27th Avenue
Miami, FL 33135
Visit the Learning Commons to pick up a Banned Book and celebrate the freedom to read.
Constitution Week Celebration Display
Eduardo J. Padrón Campus, Learning Commons, Room 6011
627 SW 27th Avenue
Miami, FL 33135
Learn more about the Constitution and the First Amendment through the display of books and other materials during Constitution Week.
Banned Books Week Book Display
Entrepreneurial Education Center, Library, Room 1202
6300 NW 7th Avenue
Miami, FL 33150
The books featured have all been targeted for removal or restriction in libraries and schools.
Banned Books Display Featuring Library Bill of Rights and Freedom to Read Statement
Hialeah Campus, Learning Commons, Room 1400
1776 W 49th Street
Hialeah, FL 33012
Learn about the “Library Bill of Rights” which embodies the basic policies that guide libraries in the provision of services, materials, and programs and the “Freedom to Read Statement” which defines the responsibilities of publishers and librarians to protect Americans’ freedom to read.
Banned Books Matching Game
All Week
12 p.m.
Hialeah Campus, Learning Commons, Room 1400
1776 W 49th Street
Hialeah, FL 33012
Play a game to see if you can match books to the reasons why they were Banned. Winners will be entered in a giveaway. Students who check out any Banned Book will receive an additional entry into the giveaway.
Banned Books Week Display
All Week
Homestead Campus, Learning Commons, Room D101
500 College Terrace
Homestead, FL 33030
Interactive display featuring books that have been Banned.
“Stand for the Banned” National Read Out
All Week
Homestead Campus, Learning Commons, Room D101
500 College Terrace
Homestead, FL 33030
Make a video reading a Banned Book or talk about censorship in front of a green screen. Staff will assist in editing and submitting the video for a chance to be featured on the “Banned Books Week” YouTube Channel.
Dear Banned Author Letter-Writing Campaign
All Week
Homestead Campus, Learning Commons, Room D101
500 College Terrace
Homestead, FL 33030
Come join the Dear Banned Author Letter-Writing Campaign, which is hosted by the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. During Banned Books Week, readers are encouraged to write (or tweet) to their favorite Banned or Challenged authors, sharing what their stories meant to them. The goal of the campaign is to raise awareness about books that are threatened with censorship, support authors, and encourage thoughtful discussions about the power of words and how essential it is to have access to a variety of viewpoints in libraries. Authors also have shared fan letters as support when there’s a public challenge to their books.
11 Most Challenged Banned Books of the Past Year Gallery Exhibit
All Week
Kendall Campus, Library, Student Exhibit Area, Room 2245
11011 Southwest 104th Street
Miami, FL 33176
View blowups of book covers of the current “11 Most Challenged Books of the Past Year”, as well as additional book displays of historically most-challenged titles. In this Gallery you will find clues for the guessing game.
Interactive Guessing Game featuring Banned Books
All Week
Kendall Campus, Library, Building 2, on the Second Floor
11011 Southwest 104th Street
Miami, FL 33176
Books displayed in plain brown wrapping will feature clues to their identity. Students can enter guesses on a provided form and drop them in a collection box at the Circulation desk. Two winners will be drawn.
Banned Books Week Display
All Week
North Campus, Library, Room 2101
11380 NW 27th Avenue
Miami, FL 33167
Celebrate Banned Books Week with Learning Resources. The books featured during Banned Books Week have all been targeted for removal or restriction in libraries and schools. By focusing on efforts across the country to remove or restrict access to books, Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship. “Censorship Leaves Us in the Dark. Keep the Light On.”
Banned Masterpieces Display
All Week
West Campus, Library, Room 1125
3800 NW 115th Avenue
Doral, FL 33178
View an exhibit of famous literature masterpieces that at some point in history were Banned or Challenged.
“Caught Red Handed” Selfie Station
All Week
West Campus, Library, Room 1125
3800 NW 115th Avenue
Doral, FL 33178
Students and staff are invited to grab a prop and take selfies reading their favorite Banned Books.
Banned Books Display
All Week
Wolfson Campus, Library, Room 1216
300 NE 2nd Avenue
Miami, FL 33132
Enjoy a selection of Banned Books titles to check out.
Where in The World Are Books Banned?
All Week
Wolfson Campus, Library, Room 1216
300 NE 2nd Avenue
Miami, FL 33132
Scan a QR Code on a world map to find Banned Books throughout the globe. “Censorship Leaves Us in the Dark. Keep the Light On”.
Mugshot Photo Booth Contest
All Week
Wolfson Campus, Library, Room 1216
300 NE Second Avenue
Miami, FL 33132
Take a selfie with your favorite Banned Book. Contest Rules: upload the photo to your Instagram, tag @mdcwolfson, use hashtags: #BannedBooksWeek & #BeMDC, and add location “Miami Dade College – Wolfson Campus”. Tell all your friends. The photo with the most likes wins a prize – Instagram profile needs to be public on Friday, September 27th (during contest drawing).
‘Free People Think and Read Freely!’ Escape Room Event
All Week
12 p.m. – 1 p.m.
Wolfson Campus, Library, Room 1216
300 NE 2nd Avenue
Miami, FL 33132
Students can register to join a team or compete individually at: www.mymdc.mywconline.net Staff will assist the team to solve the puzzle to Free Their Intellectual Freedom Rights within 45 minutes.
Monday, Sept. 23
Incognito Brown Bag Activity
8:00 a.m. – 12 p.m.
West Campus, Library, Room 1125
3800 NW 115th Avenue
Doral, FL 33178
A food-for-thought activity in which students are invited to guess the title of a Banned Book hidden inside a brown bag based on clues written outside.
Tuesday, Sept. 24
Read the Resistance on Wheels
5 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Eduardo J. Padrón Campus, Building 1 Breezeway
627 SW 27th Avenue
Miami, FL 33135
Come check out library display of Banned and Challenged Books on the go!
Banned Books Florida: Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God
1 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Eduardo J. Padrón Campus, Learning Commons, Room 6011-19
627 SW 27th Avenue
Miami, FL 33135
Join the Padrón Literati Book Club to discuss ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God’ by Zora Neale Hurston, which is one of the major American classics consistently challenged due to its use of language and sexual explicitness.
Presentation by Professor Bennie Perdue
9:50 a.m. – 11:05 a.m.
Entrepreneurial Education Center, Library, Room 1202
6300 NW 7th Avenue
Miami, FL 33150
Additional discussion groups and presentations will be held throughout the week to discuss the reason why some books were ‘condemned’ or Banned from libraries.
Bruised Purple Hearts: Ghosts of the USA Book Unveiling
10 a.m. – 11 a.m.
Homestead Campus, Learning Commons, Room D101
500 College Terrace
Homestead, FL 33030
Author Jerry Blanton will unveil his new book Bruised Purple Hearts: Ghosts of the USA. It is the early sixties as Matt Conklin and his twin brother, Max, graduate from high school amid interesting yet chaotic times that include the Civil Rights Movement, Vietnam War, and the rise of feminism, gay rights, and the use of psychedelic drugs. Matt and Max could not be more different in their views of war, civil rights, and the part physical chemistry plays within relationships. Matt is a romantic idealist who stands up to civil rights abuses and the atrocities of war. While pursuing his dream of becoming a writer, he crosses paths with bigots, women who want to marry him, antiwar radicals, drug dealers, and gay friends struggling for societal acceptance. After he becomes a teacher to the disadvantaged, Matt craves intellectual stimulation and experiments with drugs. But what no one knows is that the spiritually sensitive Matt is receiving visits from ghosts who ask things of him. As the years pass, will Matt emerge from his struggles determined to live his truth or resigned to live a life he never wanted? In this historical tale, a young man faces racial prejudice, homophobia, and mindless acceptance of the war as he soldiers through the sixties and seventies in the swamps of Florida.
Medical Books: Banned, Recalled and Objectionable
11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Medical Campus, Library, Room 1202
950 NW 20th Street
Miami, FL 33127
The Medical Campus will celebrate the freedom to read with a display of Banned Medical Books. Members of the staff will be available to discuss issues related to this topic. Students will be able to scan QR codes and access specific information on why these books were banned.
Banned Books Week Presentation by Professor Steven Kronen
9:50 a.m. – 11:05 a.m.
North Campus, Library, Room 2101
11380 NW 27th Avenue
Miami, FL 33167
Steven Kronen, Faculty Librarian, will present on a topic related to Banned Books Week. Mr. Kronen is a published author whose work has appeared in The New Republic, The American Scholar, Poetry, Agni, APR, Little Star, The Georgia Review, Ploughshares, Slate, The Yale Review, and The Three penny Review. He has received an NEA, three Florida Individual Artist fellowships, the Cecil Henley Memorial Award from the Poetry Society of America, the James Boatwright Prize from Shenandoah, and fellowships from Bread Loaf, and the Sewanee Writers’ Conferences.
Wednesday, Sept. 25
Found Poetry to Combat Censorship
1 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Eduardo J. Padrón Campus, Learning Commons, Room 6011-31
627 SW 27th Avenue
Miami, FL 33135
Censorship is not a new practice, yet personal expression and taking down the barriers of access to information is a way to fight back. As regimes around the world attempt to control or discredit the way they are portrayed in the media, people still struggle to slowly peel back the dark spaces when words fail to rise to the surface. Create protest poetry and art through redacting text, also known as blackout poetry or found poetry. Come by the Learning Commons to get inspired, push the boundaries of expression to tell your truth, and combat censorship. Presented by Librarian Isabel Duque.
Self-Censorship
9:50 a.m. – 11 a.m.
West Campus, Room 1119
3800 NW 115th Avenue
Doral, FL 33178
Join a discussion about censorship led by Faculty Librarian Steven Kronen.
Stand for The Banned Live Reading
10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Wolfson Campus, Library, Room 1216
300 NE 2nd Avenue
Miami, FL 33132
Join Wolfson Librarians as they Stand for The Banned recording their live reading from Banned Books. Videos will be submitted for a chance to be featured on the “Banned Books Week” YouTube Channel.
Thursday, Sept. 26
Censorship: The Birthplace of Dystopias
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Eduardo J. Padrón Campus, Learning Commons, Room 6011-31
627 SW 27th Avenue
Miami, FL 33135
This presentation explores how the suppression or prohibition of any voice or form of expression is the breeding ground for dystopian societies. We will look at historical, literary, and cinematic worlds in which censorship plays a role in dehumanizing and environmentally wrecking all existence. Presented by Librarian Isabel Duque.
Friday, Sept. 27
Banned Books Matching Game Drawing
12 p.m.
Hialeah Campus, Learning Commons, Room 1400
1776 W 49th Street
Hialeah, FL 33012
Drawing will take place and a winner will be announced.
Interactive Guessing Game Drawing
12 p.m.
Kendall Campus, Library, Building 2, on the Second Floor
11011 Southwest 104th Street
Miami, FL 33176
Drawing will take place and two winners will be announced.
Mugshot Photo Booth Contest Drawing
12 p.m.
Wolfson Campus, Library, Room 1216
300 NE Second Avenue
Miami, FL 33132
Tallies will be counted and a winner will be announced.