LA-based streetwear label Online Ceramics has linked up with Penguin Random House for a limited-edition collection that protests the current US book ban. The collaboration, named “Reading is a Right” celebrates books and the freedom of speech and expression, and takes a stance against censorship.
The US is currently going through a wave of book bans, with multiple titles being pulled from schools and public libraries. The list currently includes Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, Sally Rooney’s Normal People (lol, they said “save the children from situationships”), and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale (obvi). The majority of the books on the ban list are written by LGBTQIA+ people and people of colour, with the prospect of restricting the spread of progressive ideas on politics, race, gender, etc.
Penguin Random House (as well as some other publishing houses) is actually suing states such as Florida, Iowa and Idaho for their recent censoring laws that allow schools to ban certain books, which is against the First Amendment. From the Online Ceramics collab Penguin will donate 100% of its proceeds to the American Library Association, and is giving educators and librarians a 20% discount on the collection.
The collab features tough slogans such as “Read a Banned Book”, “Intellectual Freedom Task Force” and “Reading is a Right”. You can cop the collection at onlineceramics.com.
Featured image Online Ceramics©
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