Banned Together: The Fight Against Censorship Screening and Panel Discussion

Kick off Banned Books Week with a screening of the documentary, “Banned Together: The Fight Against Censorship,” followed by a discussion with a panel of experts featuring award-winning YA author K. Ancrum,  Keisha Howard, creator of Mind Faux, and Joyce McIntosh, Assistant Program Director for the Freedom to Read Foundation.

Ages 12 and up. Registration recommended. 

“Banned Together” follows three students as they fight to reinstate 97 books suddenly pulled from their school libraries. As they evolve from local to national activists, they meet with banned authors, politicians, and the major players protecting the First Amendment of our Constitution.

K. Ancrum is the author of award winning YA thrillers, notably THE WICKER KING, ICARUS, and most recently THE CORRUPTION OF HOLLIS BROWN. She lives in Chicago, IL.

Keisha Howard is the founder and creative director of Sugar Gamers Labs, a Chicago-based collective exploring the intersection of gaming, community, and emerging technology. Through her flagship project, Mind Faux, she creates multi-format experiences—from AR-enabled card games to episodic video games and live events—that teach media literacy and critical thinking through play. Known as a translator between institutional power and lived realities, Keisha brings cultural insight, systems thinking, and a punk-futurist edge to every collaboration. Her work redefines games as platforms for resilience, connection, and human flourishing rather than just products.

Joyce McIntosh is the Assistant Program Director for the Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF), an organization dedicated to First Amendment education, litigation, and advocacy. She has worked at the intersection of intellectual freedom, communication, and the First Amendment for three decades. Her background and education in journalism and library and information science have led her to work for newspapers, non-profits, and for the last two decades in libraries. She worked in a public library outside of Chicago, IL providing reference, programming, outreach, and assistive technology before joining FTRF. With FTRF and the American Library Association her work has focused on education about the First Amendment and censorship, and helping librarians navigate challenges in their school and public libraries.