LaVar Burton is spreading a message to the youth.
He wants kids to read more books that are banned. The former Reading Rainbow host appeared during a segment about banned books on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah and encouraged kids to“read the books they don’t want you to. That’s where the good stuff is.”
Take a look:
Comic Book points out Burton has always encouraged the culture to read. He did so on his show Reading Rainbow, with his book club and his podcast LeVar Burton Reads.
LeVar chopped it up with the publication in 2019 and shared what he hoped to achieve through the podcast. He said, “If I had a mission statement for LeVar Burton Reads, it would be to remind the Reading Rainbow generation how important reading is in their lives, and their imaginations. He continued,
“I guess more than anything else that’s the message that I want. I want people to engage with their imaginations, with these stories. Because, especially as adults now, you guys are adulting. I don’t want you to stop using your imaginations because you’re going to need them going forward. Because there’s a whole lot of shit we’re leaving for you to clean up. I’m sorry about that. I apologize, but I am trying to encourage some of the skills and talents you’re going to need going forward.”
The topic of books getting banned is increasing. NBC points out earlier this year, Black children’s author and illustrator Jerry Craft received a message saying some of his books were being pulled from a school library in Texas. He said, “felt bad for the kids because I know how much they love ‘New Kid’ and ‘Class Act.’ I know what my school visits do. … I felt bad if there was going to be some kids that would not be able to take advantage of that.”