Library to host a panel discussion on the banning of books to complement Clarence Brown Theatre’s production of Alabama Story

 

Challenged, banned, or censored. What exactly does the First Amendment protect? What rights do citizens have to protect themselves from unorthodox teachings? How common is book banning? Join playright Kenneth Jones and area experts for a discussion of censorship in school and public libraries on Sunday, February 4 at 2:00 p.m. at Lawson McGhee Library, 500 W. Church Ave. 

 

Knox County Public Library is pleased to partner with Clarence Brown Theatre on its upcoming Tennessee premiere of Alabama Story by Kenneth Jones. Alabama Story tells of a gentle children’s book that stirs the passions of a segregationist senator and a no-nonsense state librarian in 1959 Montgomery, just as the Civil Rights Movement is flowering. Inspired by true events, Alabama Story puts politicians, star-crossed childhood friends, and one feisty author in a struggle for the soul of the Deep South.

 

Panelists include:

Sarah Searles, Knox County Schools

Cindy Welch, Professor, School of Information Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Kenneth Jones, Alabama Story playwright

Facilitiated by Nelda Hill, Assistant Director, Knox County Public Library

 

 

Funded in part by a grant from Humanities Tennessee, an independent affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.