The Left Bank Books Foundation, the 501(c)(3) arm of Left Bank Books in St. Louis, Mo., has launched the Literacy & Justice Project, aimed at providing banned and challenged books to people who lack access to them.
For a donation of $20, Left Bank Books will send a copy of The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, Maus by Art Spiegelman, All Boys Aren't Blue by George Matthew Johnson, Heavy by Kiese Laymon or Fun Home by Alison Bechdel to someone who has registered for a free copy.
In a message to customers announcing the project, store owner Kris Kleindienst and her staff noted that The Bluest Eye, All Boys Aren't Blue, Heavy and Fun Home were removed from Wentzville, Mo., School District libraries in January, while Maus was banned last month in Tennessee.
"Race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity, religion, and apparently even history are taboo subjects in the eyes of an extreme minority," the bookstore wrote. "While the efforts to resist the rightward turn away from the democratic principle of free expression is multi-faceted and ongoing, we thought we would try to make a difference in real time for folks who lack access to the material being challenged."
Anyone can make donations or register for free copies of banned books on the foundation's website.