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Tense school board meetings last year about books - led to new rules this year. Florida now requires districts to review every single book it owns.
SUNRISE, Fla. - P!nk is raising a glass to banned books during her Florida shows this week.
The "So What" singer co-hosted an Instagram Live earlier this week alongside PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel and poet and activist Amanda Gorman. PEN America is a nonprofit organization that raises awareness of free expression in the U.S.
Wearing a pink T-shirt that says, "I read banned books," P!nk opened up about how "infuriated" she is with book bans going into effect all over the country, and especially in Florida.
"It's super important for me to take a moment to talk about book bans, which is really, really, really breaking my heart," the 44-year-old pop star said. "It's on my radar. It's kind of unbelievable, and I'm not easily shocked."
Nossel explained her role with PEN America and how the organization is pushing back against book bans.
"It is such a privilege for us to be with you to talk about book bans, because as you know, this is a wave that is taking over our country, our schools, our libraries," Nossel said. "They're going after books about children of color, stories of LGBTQ families, books about babies, about animals.
"This is censorship in its purest form. It is meant to suppress narratives that we need here as a pluralistic society. And so we have to push back."
Nossel said her organization tracks banned books, adding that 3,600 books have been banned in the last school year. PEN America also said Florida is ranked No. 1 in the U.S. for all documented book bans, with more than 40% of book bans happening in the state.
Most recently, over 300 books were banned in Collier County.
Among the books banned in Collier County was comedian and actor Steve Martin's novella, Shopgirl.
In a statement to FOX News Digital, Collier County Public Schools Chief Communication Officer Chad Oliver explained the motivation behind the book bans in the county.
"Determination for removal of some books was made based on parameters of FL House Bill 1069, as well as other district review processes such as out-of-date titles that have minimal to no circulation," he said. "The changes are effective immediately; however, the district is doing an additional review of the titles. If it is determined these materials should remain in the CCPS collection, then CCPS media specialists will be notified."
FL House Bill 1069 was established to "protect children in public schools," according to the Florida Senate. The bill includes "requirements for age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate instruction for all students in prekindergarten through grade 12." It also calls for the review of library and classroom materials and requires materials containing pornography or obscene depictions of sexual conduct to be suspended.
You can read the full bill text and summary below. Story continues below PDF.
Because of these laws, P!nk said she will be giving away four books to fans at her Miami-area shows this week. The four books are:
- The Family Book by Todd Parr
- The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman
- Beloved by Toni Morrison
- Girls Who Code by Reshma Saujani
These four books appear on PEN America's Index of Banned Books.
"We are thrilled to be working with P!nk on this important cause," said Kasey Meehan, director of PEN America’s Freedom to Read Program, said in a press release. "Every child deserves access to literature that reflects their lives. Rampant censorship is depriving kids of the chance to see themselves in books and learn about the world and its history."
"I'm giving out books to anybody that wants them banned, books to everyone that's coming to my shows in the Miami area," P!nk said on Instagram, adding that "It's confusing. It's infuriating. It is censorship."
The "Just Give Me A Reason" singer is scheduled to take over Miami's Kaseya Center on Tuesday night and Sunrise's Amerant Bank Arena on Wednesday.
She's also performing at Orlando's Amway Center on Saturday and Sunday, but it's unclear if she'll give away banned books at these shows, too.