San Diego author whose book was banned in Arizona takes part in national campaign

A San Diego native will give a special reading of his book, banned by an Arizona school district in 2012, as part of National Banned Book Week.

Matt de la Peña will read from "Mexican WhiteBoy" at the Encinitas Library at an event sponsored in part by San Diego County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer. The county is promoting Banned Book Week from Sept. 22-28 at all 33 county of San Diego Libraries.

"We've taken a stand to support our county library staff and protect the freedom to read for San Diegans," said Lawson-Remer, who wrote a policy to celebrate the week in San Diego. "It is unfortunate extremists are trying to silence authors and keep books off shelves. I want all San Diegans to know that our 33 county libraries are safe places to read what they'd like."

The event with de la Peña will take place Sept. 23 and begins at 6 p.m. at the Encinitas Library, 540 Cornish Drive, with the support of Empowering Latino Futures — part of the American Library Foundation. Born in National City, de la Peña has won the Newberry Medal and published six young adult novels.

"Mexican WhiteBoy," written in 2009, was banned by the Tucson School District from 2012-17 as part of an effort to remove books the school board believed contained "critical race theory."

"The county library is dedicated to providing a collection that is both representative of our residents and also allows readers to explore the perspectives and experiences of others," said Migell Costa, library director of San Diego County Library. "We acquire and curate materials for everyone, we provide reading materials in the county's threshold languages as well as other languages that are actively used in the community."

Attendees have the opportunity to meet the author, listen to the reading and possibly receive one of nearly 200 free copies of the book.

According to the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom, in 2023 alone, 4,240 book titles were targeted for censorship nationwide. Of books being targeted, nearly half (47%) feature LGBTQ+ and Black, Indigenous and People of Color.

"Book bans are a slam on free speech and a disgrace since so many banned books are written by and about diverse populations that are unfortunately — and falsely — seen as a threat to American society," said Kirk Whisler, board president of Empowering Latino Futures. "We all must unite to stop these bans."

Last year, the San Diego city library in Rancho Peñasquitos was targeted by protesters trying to censor LGTBQ+ books.