Pink Celebrates Hometown as School Board President Swears In on Banned Books
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Pink, the internationally acclaimed singer and Doylestown Township native, has been among the first to celebrate her home state of Pennsylvania after newly elected school board president Karen Smith made a rebellious statement on book bans. Smith, who was chosen as the president of the Central Bucks school board earlier this month, decided to be sworn in with her hand on a stack of frequently banned books rather than the Bible.
Smith and other Democrats had been vocal about their opposition to the former Republican-led school board’s policy to prohibit so-called “sexualized content”, which made it easier to ban books from school libraries, particularly those with LGBTQ+ or diversity-related themes. At the time, Smith’s opposition had been outnumbered. However, as soon as Smith was elected president of the Central Bucks school board, she made it crystal clear that regressive book ban policies wouldn’t be in place for long.
“I’m not particularly religious,” she said, per The Philadelphia Inquirer, after swearing in on a stack of six frequently banned books. “The Bible doesn’t hold significant meaning for me, and given everything that has occurred in the last couple of years, the banned books, they do mean something to me at this point.”
Smith’s gesture quickly made it onto the internet, with photos of her swearing on books like The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison and Night by Eli Wiesel going viral. Among those who showed support for Smith online was Pink herself. Re-posting the photo of Smith on X (formerly Twitter), Pink wrote: “Makes me proud of my hometown!!!!!!”
This symbolic gesture holds particular significance for Pink, who has been using her platform to criticize book bans. In November, she teamed up with PEN America to donate thousands of copies of frequently banned books to fans who attended her gigs in Florida, which has the highest number of banned books in public school classrooms and libraries.
“Books have held a special joy for me from the time I was a child, and that’s why I am unwilling to stand by and watch while books are banned by schools,” Pink said during an Instagram Live discussion with PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel and poet Amanda Gorman. “It’s especially hateful to see authorities take aim at books about race and racism and against LGBTQ authors and those of color. We have made so many strides toward equality in this country and no one should want to see this progress reversed. This is why I am supporting PEN America in its work and why I agree with them: no more banned books.”
Like Smith, Pink faced backlash from conservative groups when she revealed her stance on book bans. However, she remained steadfast in her fight for progress and used her platform to advocate for inclusivity. Smith, too, has faced challenges for her beliefs. She had previously been elected to the Central Bucks school board as a Republican but switched to the Democratic party in 2021 after the school board voted against sending a counselor to training for transgender students.
On her decision to switch parties, Smith told the local paper, “I thought, ‘I can’t be a part of these kinds of actions.’ The Republican Party has lost its way.” Although she didn’t believe the Democrats would accept or elect her, she realized that they “were watching carefully the actions [she] took over the past two years… They valued that, not my previous party affiliation.”
Under Smith’s presidency, the new school board has already voted to rescind a number of conservative policies, including those that banned library books and resource materials with so-called “sexualized content”, restricted trans female students from participating in female sports teams, and banned pride flags in classrooms for fear of teachers “indoctrinating students”.
Pink’s celebration of her hometown and support for Karen Smith’s bold stance on book bans highlights the importance of preserving freedom of expression and ensuring that diverse voices are heard. By using their platforms to fight against censorship and discrimination, both Pink and Smith are making a significant impact in their communities and beyond.
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“Hometown celebration”
