Southeastern to hold panel on book bans in Louisiana
Wednesday, March 20, 2024
by: Tonya Lowentritt
HAMMOND – Southeastern Louisiana University’s Department of Sociology and Criminal
Justice will host a panel titled “Book Bans in Louisiana” on Tuesday, March 26, at
4 p.m. Held in the Student Union Theater, the event is free and open to the public.
The panel will feature Kristen Luchsinger, co-founder of St. Tammany Library
Alliance; Lynette Meija, founder of Louisiana Citizens Against Censorship; and Amanda
Jones, School Library Journal Librarian of the Year and author of the upcoming book
“That Librarian.” The panel will be moderated by Jonathan Varnado, instructor of Criminal
Justice.
The panelists will share their individual and collective experiences of fighting
against censorship in Louisiana. Luchsinger, Meija, and Jones have been instrumental
in organizing movements in St. Tammany, Lafayette, and Livingston parishes to counter
demands that libraries remove or restrict certain books.
“I believe it’s important for our communities to understand this phenomenon that
seems to be spreading, not just across Louisiana, but across the country,” said Varnado.
“I hope that by bringing these three advocates together, we can come away with a greater
appreciation of what’s going on and how this affects us all.”
Southeastern’s Sims Library will also have a “Banned Books” display set up in
the lobby of the Student Union Theater that guests can view before and after the event.
