SPEAKIN’ OUT NEWS
Read Freely Alabama has been awarded a $40,000 grant from the Nathan Cummings Foundation to expand its fight against book bans and library censorship across Alabama.
The funding will support eight community events — including six in-person gatherings and two online programs — focused on civic engagement, racial justice, and the protection of public libraries from restrictive policies and censorship efforts.
Read Freely Alabama leaders said the grant will help the organization reach rural and historically underserved communities, where libraries often face growing pressure to remove books or risk losing public funding.
“We believe Alabama’s public libraries must remain equitable public spaces,” the organization said in a statement. “These funds will allow us to expand our reach into rural communities of Alabama who have historically been most impacted by racial injustice.”
The grassroots nonprofit has become one of Alabama’s leading organizations opposing efforts to remove LGBTQ-themed books from children’s and teen library sections through local and state-level policies.
Officials say the new funding will also help communities become more civically engaged in defending local libraries and access to diverse educational materials.
Every Library Institute, which serves as Read Freely Alabama’s fiscal sponsor, praised the grant as an investment in community-driven advocacy and public access to information.
The announcement comes as debates surrounding book bans, censorship, and library access continue to intensify nationwide, especially in Southern states where public libraries have increasingly become the center of political and cultural battles.