Julia Roberts and other celebrities join 'Let America Read' campaign opposing bans of books with LGBTQ and racial themes

A group of celebrities, including actress Julia Roberts, joined a campaign opposing book bans called "Let America Read."

Local and state officials have pulled some controversial books off of school library and public library shelves after public furor over critical race theory and LGBTQ themes. Many on the left have criticized these efforts by mischaracterizing them as being contrary to the First Amendment right to free speech.

The "Let America Read" initiative was orchestrated by the CAA Foundation from the Creative Artists Agency and the Campaign for Our Shared Future.

Among those celebrities was actress Selma Blair, who released a statement for the campaign.

"I am a reader. I think all books have some value, but the life-changing books that have fought for that space in the school Canon of literature, they represent what has been so vital to America," Blair wrote.

In addition to Roberts and Blair, other celebrities who joined the campaign included Connie Britton, Julianna Margulies, Shonda Rhimes, and Andy Cohen.

"Since time immemorial, book banning has been the refuge of leaders who fear that their arguments and writs cannot withstand scrutiny. Its violence is born of weakness," said Margulies. "And we are not a weak people – fighting book bans is an act of patriotism and a show of strength."

Parents who object to inappropriate themes in books being offered to their children have spoken up at school board meetings and even resorted to reading out loud the controversial lines from books at meetings.

CAA Foundation executive Deborah Marcus appeared to address those concerns by claiming all of the banned books were "age appropriate" despite the objections of parents and others.

"Librarians and teachers across the country are being targeted, threatened, and fired for putting books on shelves that are age appropriate, historically sound, and reflective of society during the time periods in which they were set," she wrote.

Here's more about the book-banning controversy:

Florida Moms CONFRONT School Board Over PORNOGRAPHIC Books in School Librarieswww.youtube.com

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