LeVar Burton, actor, director, author, and former host of “Reading Rainbow,” was recognized this week for his lifelong work championing literacy and learning.
On October 21, Burton was awarded the National Humanities Medal for his acting and literacy advocacy work in a ceremony at the White House. Seventeen distinguished humanists and two humanities organizations were recognized at the event. Honorees include historian Jon Meacham, author and chef Anthony Bourdain, poet Joy Harjo, screenwriter and director Aaron Sorkin, and cartoonist and author Roz Chast.
Awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the National Humanities Medal honors an individual or organization whose work has deepened the nation’s understanding of the human experience, broadened citizens’ engagement with history or literature, or helped preserve and expand Americans’ access to cultural resources. NEH awarded its first medal in 1996, and 225 medals have been presented since: 207 to individuals and 18 to organizations.
After the ceremony, Burton posted on X:
And Burton’s wife, Stephanie Cozart Burton, shared:
A voice against book bans
Burton has been a vocal critic of U.S. book bans in recent years. In 2023, he served as the honorary chair of Banned Books Week.
“Books bring us together. They teach us about the world and each other. The ability to read and access books is a fundamental right and a necessity for life-long success,” Burton said. “But books are under attack. They’re being removed from libraries and schools. Shelves have been emptied because of a small number of people and their misguided efforts toward censorship. Public advocacy campaigns like Banned Books Week are essential to helping people understand the scope of book censorship and what they can do to fight it. I’m honored to lead Banned Books Week 2023.”
Burton elaborated on the issue when he was a guest on MSNBC’s The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle last October. He said the unprecedented increase in bans and challenges is “alarming” but has an upside: It’s forcing us to have a conversation about who we want to be as a nation.
“As a parent, I believe you should have the right to monitor and have a say in what your child consumes in terms of literature and media,” Burton told host Stephanie Ruhle. “But what you don’t have is the right to impose your beliefs about your children on everybody else’s kids. Censorship is just not ok.”
Watch the whole conversation here.
Burton also made an appearance on the "Jimmy Kimmel Show" to speak out against book bans, doing so in the form of a spoof of his beloved reading show.
Called “Banned Book Rainbow,” the spot finds Burton explaining book bans to a group of kids who are absolutely bewildered by the concept. "Banned Book Rainbow" is “where we talk about books that have been banned by adults who don’t want kids to learn or grow or change and have totally lost their sense of wonder. Sounds like fun?” Burton asks the kids before inquiring if they know why adults want to ban books.
“They don’t want their kids to be smarter than them,” said a child. “They want to have more power.”
Lasting impact
On an episode PBS’s "Finding Your Roots," host Henry Louis Gates Jr., an NEH Jefferson Lecturer, asked Burton what he’s proudest of. He replied, “You would think "Roots" because of the magnitude of its impact that it’s had on the planet …. But it’s really "Reading Rainbow" …. Believing so much in the power of education, as we do in my family, and having an impact on the reading habits of a couple of generations of human beings, it doesn’t get any better than that.”
If you love LeVar Burton as much as we do, show the world with the shirt from our friends at Out of Print, featuring the American Library Association’s (ALA) 2002 READ poster of Burton holding a copy of Helen Ward’s magical children’s book, "The Tin Forest." It’s available in both unisex and women’s sizes. Each purchase supports ALA and our work keeping libraries strong across the country.
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Photo: The White House
