Banned Books Week: A Conversation with the ACLU and Nico Lang

For many people, books are portals to other parts of the world, planet, universe and realms – real or imaginary. For the kids who feel different, lonely or unloved, the availability of books that center stories of non-dominant communities offers a sound reassurance that they are not alone in this world.

Nico Lang knows this all too well.

Lang is the best-selling author of “American Teenager: How Trans Kids are Surviving Hate and Finding Joy in a Turbulent Era.” Drawing on hundreds of hours of on-the-ground interviews with trans teens and the people in their communities, Lang paints a vivid portrait of what it’s actually like to grow up trans today.

But not everyone wants teenagers to have access to these stories.

Efforts to censor and ban books by and about LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit people, BIPOC and other marginalized groups are growing across the country. It’s happening in North Dakota, too.

But this week, the ACLU of North Dakota is celebrating those stories when Lang joins the ACLU for a trip across North Dakota during the annual Banned Books Week.

At each stop across the state, Lang will be joined in conversation with Cody Schuler, the ACLU of North Dakota’s advocacy manager. Lang and Schuler will discuss book bans and censorship efforts that why it’s so important for all young people – especially LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit youth – to see themselves reflect and represented in the books they read.

IF YOU GO: A Conversation with the ACLU and Nico Lang

FARGO: 7 p.m., Monday, Oct. 6 at Atomic Coffee, 222 Broadway N. #100

JAMESTOWN: 12 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 7 at University of Jamestown's Raugust Library, 6070 College Lane

BISMARCK: 7 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 7 at Lucky's 13 Pub, 915 S. 3rd St. and 12 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 8 at Bismarck State College’s Skogen Hall, 1400 Schafer St.

MINOT: 7 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 8 at Main Street Books, 8 Main St. S.

GRAND FORKS: 6 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 9 at Grand Forks Public Library, 2110 Library Circle, Grand Forks

FOR INFORMATION: Go to www.aclund.org/events

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About the ACLU of North Dakota

The American Civil Liberties Union of North Dakota is a non-partisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of civil liberties and civil rights. The ACLU of North Dakota is part of a three-state chapter that also includes South Dakota and Wyoming. The team in North Dakota is supported by staff in those states.

The ACLU believes freedoms of press, speech, assembly and religion, and the rights to due process, equal protection and privacy, are fundamental to a free people. In addition, the ACLU seeks to advance constitutional protections for groups traditionally denied their rights, including people of color, women and LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit communities. The ACLU of North Dakota carries out its work through selective litigation, lobbying at the state and local level, and through public education and awareness of what the Bill of Rights means for the people of North Dakota.