With President Donald J. Trump’s administration threatening access to information and book bans, it is important to stay informed now more than ever.
Trump signed an executive order on Mar. 27, 2025 to review information in the Smithsonian Museums because of “divisive, race-centered ideology,” and states Florida and Texas are numbers one and two respectively for banned books in public libraries in 2025 according to PEN America.
Staying informed and reading books is one way to expand our worldview, and an important part of activism is learning theory to inform our decisions in the real world.
At least nine states have passed anti-book ban legislation, including California that passed AB 1825, California Freedom to Read Act, in 2024 to protect the right of public libraries and school libraries as informational institutions.
There are plenty of different types and genres of literature people can read, whether that be long, nonfiction books like “A People’s History of the United States” by Howard Zinn or short, important letters such as “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr, there is a never ending well of information available.
Maro Bello, president of the social activism club United Minds Empowering Coalition at Delta College and member of music-based social welfare organization The Bad Planet, recommends reading “Pedagogy of the Oppressed” by Paulo Freire to anyone who’s getting politically active for the first time. Freire discusses how education will empower the people to fight for their collective liberation. Bello also recommends “Theatre of the Oppressed” by Augusto Boal, which talks about utilizing the arts in political activism.
“That’s another huge influence for me with Bad Planet of using music for beyond just commerciality, with Bad Planet we play music with a purpose by getting involved in social activism,” said Bello.
Danielle Bush, Vice President of the Politics and Law Club and Senator of Legislative Affairs for Associated Students of Delta College, read “Assata: An Autobiography” by Assata Shakur over the summer, and describes how the overall theme of the novel is the racism embedded in America’s failing justice system.
“They attacked her, they tried to kill her, and she was still arrested for crimes that they committed against her, and she had to flee, and to this day she’s still in Cuba, and nobody will turn her over because they know that our justice system is broken,” said Bush.
Shakur passed on Sept. 25 in Cuba, she never was able to return to the United States.
The importance of access to information and reading as a tool of activism cannot be overstated, however taking the time to do the learning in this instance is only half the battle, it’s about what you do with knowledge that you gain.
Correction: The wording in this article has been changed to clarify that “A People’s History of the United States” by Howard Zinn is nonfiction.
