The University of Illinois System will host a symposium in August that will feature speakers and panel discussions on topics including book banning, censorship, and the importance of reading and books to fostering public dialogue, inclusion, and engaged citizenship.

Taking place on August 20-21, 2024, at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts and the IHotel on the campus and environs of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, “Free People Read Freely: Literacy, Inclusion, and Democracy” will open with a keynote conversation between Clint Smith, New York Times best-selling author and winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award; and George M. Johnson, one of the 2022 TIME100 Next Most Influential People in the World, whose memoir on growing up black and queer has been widely banned. The opening keynote conversation will be moderated by Urbana poet laureate and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign faculty member Ruby Mendenhall.

Additional details will be announced soon.