What would you do if your school removed books from the library—books that reflected your identity, your history, your reality? In Ban This!: How One School Fought Two Book Bans and Won (and How You Can Too), a powerful group of students and educators from Central York High School in Pennsylvania show exactly how they turned protest into progress. When their school board voted to ban a long list of books—many by or about people of color—the Panther Anti-Racist Union (PARU) refused to stay silent.
Written by PARU members Christina Ellis, Renee Ellis, Edha Gupta, Ben Hodge, Patricia Jackson, and Olivia Pituch, Ban This! breaks down the arguments often used to justify censorship and gives students the tools they need to stand up for their right to read. It’s more than a story—it’s a guidebook for young activists everywhere.
In this blog post, we’re thrilled to share answers from all six authors. Each one discusses their unique perspective on writing the book, youth activism, and why student voices matter now more than ever. Whether you’re a student, educator, or advocate, these insights will fuel passion to protect intellectual freedom. Read on to download the free educator guide and spark meaningful conversation.
Christina Ellis
Christina Ellis is an African-Caribbean American activist based in Pennsylvania. She served as the vice president of the Panther Anti-Racist Union during the 2021-2022 school year. Christina, fellow officers, and others worked together to reverse a book ban that her school district placed upon books and resources that promoted diversity and inclusion. Christina and others, currently work to continue to educate others on the importance of diversity, education, and inclusion within her community. She hopes that by sharing her personal journey, she can help to spark hope in the lives of countless people around the nation and beyond.
What was your inspiration while writing the book?
I really took a deep dive into my childhood experiences and personal stories to help me truly share my part of the story that led to us as a team working together for a great cause.
What was the the most challenging part of writing this book and sharing your story?
How to tell my story while also sharing the lessons and advice I have learned.
Why advocate for others at such a young age?
If not now then when? I have learned when you have a story to tell and a lesson to share that will help others, tell it. You never know how your story will help someone else.
What do you hope readers take away from this book?
I hope others learn that it is more than ok to use your voice for good. That sometimes you are the one who needs to break the silence and soon others will do the same.
Where do you see yourself in the future with your advocacy work?
I hope to become a bilingual doctor to advocate for patients whose English is not their primary language. I want patients to come into receive healthcare without worrying about a language barrier.
Renee Ellis
Being an African-Caribbean American student activist, Renee Ellis was immersed into activism after her school district, Central York School District, enforced a racially motivated book ban. She became the director of communications and outreach for the Panther Anti-Racist Union, also known as PARU. Organizing and engaging in a series of peaceful protests at her high school and in the community, she helped reverse the ban. Renee currently works with PARU to continue to promote diversity, education, communication, and inclusion.
What was your inspiration while writing the book?
Much like my passion for activism, my passion for this topic comes again from my love of the human race. More specifically, how we are each connected to each other and to our history. It has always been important to me to learn about my history, my people, my cultures, and those who have come before me. Understanding all these critical pieces and educating ourselves on our history and identities can help break down walls of hatred and generations of ignorance. I believe to understand our role in the fight for justice, it starts at having an understanding of how we all are connected to each other, our history, and how detrimental the silencing of marginalized communities and the erasing of history is to moving forward towards a better future. My goal for my writing and for the works outside of writing that I create is to communicate these ideas and to relate to any and everyone that I can.
What was the the most challenging part of writing this book and sharing your story?
The most challenging part of telling my story and putting my ideas into writing is being vulnerable. Often, having to share our lives with others can be difficult and expressing ideas can be daunting. You are never sure how your thoughts and feelings will be perceived or if they are even being communicated properly. However, thinking about just how important these ideas are helped me to overcome the overwhelming feelings of being vulnerable. To think that someone could feel seen reading this book, or empowered to begin their own work in activism fills my heart with joy. Doing the work needed to fight for equity in this country is no small task. Often it feels as though you are alone or fighting against a brick wall, however it is important to remember the people we wish to impact. Every reader and student activist is valuable and deserves to be seen and related to. It all starts with knowing that the first step to connection is to be vulnerable.
What influenced your passion for activism?
I have always been fascinated by people. I think the human race is beautiful, interesting, and I have always been inspired by the many people around me. My love for the many stories that we each hold has been a huge influence in my passion for activism. However, I really saw the need and just how important activism is after the murder of George Floyd in 2020. Witnessing the racism and cruelty around the world and in my own community at the time, was the main motivator for me to take a stand. With the encouragement of my sister, my Dad, my Mom, and the teachers and students who stood with us, I chose to join in the fight for equity and justice. As an African American and Jamaican American student, having to see such brutality take place on national television was sickening. Also knowing and fully understanding that Black Americans have been having to fight against police brutality for generations and generations made the work we were doing that much more personal. The fight against hatred and cruelty in this country for me is a fight for my family, my friends, and my cultures.
What do you hope readers take away from this book?
There are many main takeaways that any reader will gain from reading this novel. I truly believe that the many perspectives and the stories told throughout the book offer the reader a chance to learn so much about the importance of diversity and inclusion for all. However, one message that I hope really resonates with the reader is that no matter what age you are, you can make a difference. Often, society tells us that if you are too young or too old you are worthless in the push for change and the pursuit of justice. That could not be more wrong. Anyone and everyone has the power to make a difference and to stand for what they believe in, no matter who you are, what you identify as, or where you come from. Every person on this earth is important to the fabric of society and everyone has a role to play in what our future looks like.
Are there any other passions of yours that influence you and your work?
There are several other passions that I have outside of activism, but they are all tied into sharing stories, allowing people to be heard, and bettering the society that we live in. I am very passionate about art. I have been drawing since elementary school and portrait painting since high school. Currently, I am a student at Kent State University double majoring in Fashion Design and Fashion Merchandising. In the artwork that I create, I am very intentional in creating works that highlight diversity, inclusion, and different cultures. I am also passionate about human ecology and ethical business practices. Holding businesses accountable and advocating for the betterment of the lives of people all around the world are very important to me. I care about being able to make an impact on my chosen industry, in the work that I do in my career field, and in the creativity I choose to put out into the world.
Edha Gupta
Edha Gupta is an activist who served as the president of the Panther Anti-Racist Union during the 2021-2022 school year. Edha and fellow officers successfully protested a school board decision to ban more than 300+ books on diversity education throughout the Central York School District. By sharing the power of her story as an Indian-American, Edha hopes to inspire young activists to make a difference through impactful change, resulting in memorable and long-lasting change in education and throughout the country. She is based in Pennsylvania.
What was your inspiration while writing the book?
I think we all collectively as the Panther Anti Racist Union wanted to amplify our story and message permanently and tangibly. There is something powerful about seeing your words written permanently somewhere. I think this was the main driving factor that went into my contributions into this book. I never want myself to forget or the world to forget our activism.
What was your personal experience about writing about such intimate experiences and times in your life when you faced racial discrimination?
Initially, it was hard for me to even verbalize my experiences with racism and discrimination. For so many years I had willingly been silent about the racism and the discrimination that I faced, and now I had to be vulnerable for a national and international audience. It was scary, and I felt that I was putting myself in a weaker position. As I started speaking on my story more and more, it became easier for me to find the power in my story and voice. When I saw the impact that my story-telling could have on other people and how other young girls of color were also telling me how my vulnerability helped them to be seen, I realized how impactful my personal experience could be for other people.
What do you hope readers take away from this book?
Our book is framed as a handbook for learners, educators, and people everywhere to not only learn about the pervasive issue that book-banning is and shed light on the issue, but it is also a way for students to gain solidarity and comfort in knowing they are not alone. Hopefully this book serves as an inspiration for students everywhere that are combating attacks on education to mobilize their communities to take action against educational censorship because they have a tangible example of a success story and the steps, strategies and anecdotes we fondly remember from our experience doing this. Too often issues like book-banning are brought to the media for a limited amount of time and then immediately forgotten. Hopefully, this book will inspire community members, students, and witnesses of injustice to be empowered about the urgency of this issue.
How do you feel you have changed since your initial activism?
Through these gratifying journeys of awards, interviews, protests, and now writing a book I have gone through a revolutionary change as a human. This journey empowered me to pursue activism in my undergraduate studies in ways that I would have never before. In my personal life, I am no longer afraid to speak up about injustices that others and I face. Young people are taught so often that what they have to say is not significant, and their perspective on bettering the future of our world is naive. In my opinion, we need more young people empowered to use their voices. I am so glad that I went through this type of personality evolution in my youth.
How are you continuing your activism now?
The students of PARU have gone on to our undergraduate studies to now start an organization named EmpowerED. The mission of this organization is to connect students from around the country that are fighting similar attacks on education and to help them in mobilizing against educational censorship. Along with social media advocacy, we also interact with and amplify organizations all across the US.
Olivia Pituch
Olivia Pituch is a Pennsylvania-based activist and member of the LGBTQ+ community. She served as secretary and social media advisor on the executive board of the Panther Anti-Racist Union, a student-run club at Central York High School. Along with her fellow officers, Olivia organized multiple protests that led to the reversal of a book ban instituted by the district school board, which removed more than 300+ books on diversity. She plans to continue the fight for diversity and representation by majoring in the field of Political Science.
What was your inspiration while writing the book?
Over the past four years, I have had such an expansive and incredible journey with advocacy and diversity. However, my passion for equality and diversity has been something that always lived in me. I was the little 2nd grader carrying three chairs because the teacher asked for “strong men” to help. I was the kid defending the LGBTQ+ community before I understood what it was. But I was also the timid, queer teenager, terrified to come out. When I did come out, my school district enacted a ban on LGBTQ+ and BIPOC resources, authors, and books. I had an incredible support system to help me through. Most others are not so lucky. In writing this book, I wanted to help kids find their voice and their power. I wanted to educate the book banners on why I have been fighting against these bans for so long and how deeply their actions can affect children. But most importantly, I wanted to show other students they are not alone. My inspiration was all of the young people who have been silenced or shielded from representation and diversity.
What is the most surprising thing you discovered while researching or writing the book?
This book required little research and I was pulling from my personal experiences, so I didn’t expect to learn much. However, I was shocked to discover just how much this book taught me. Writing my story allowed me to process and reflect on my experiences and how deeply they impacted me. I learned a lot about myself and through exploring counterarguments, I learned about the people I disagree with. My deepest lessons were found with my incredible co-authors. We frequently called while writing to bounce ideas, read each other’s chapters, and break down our stories. Both their chapters and input were so incredibly educational and allowed me to see the world in a whole new light.
What do you hope readers take away from this book?
I hope readers learn that they are not alone in this fight or this world and I hope they discover how powerful their voice is. Kids are so often told that their voice doesn’t matter or that they are too young to make an impact. My goal is to show every young person that those things are not true. We were all a bunch of kids who used their voices to make a change. Every student is capable of that and I want to make sure they know it. They belong, their voice matters, and they can make a difference.
Ben Hodge
Ben Hodge is the founder and faculty advisor of the Panther Anti-Racist Union. A 20-year veteran of the classroom, he teaches acting classes at Central York High School and serves as the artistic director for the Central York Performing Arts program. A staunch advocate of the Diversity programming in the Central York School District since 2006, he has focused primarily on diversity education, mediation, and social-emotional awareness. In 2025 he was an Honorable Mention recipient of the NCTE National Intellectual Freedom Award along with his coauthor, Patricia Jackson.
What was your inspiration for the book?
The inspiration for this book came from our experience dealing with book bans, racism and censorship in our school district from 2020-2023. In many ways, our district was ground zero for the recent wave of extremism that has infiltrated school boards across the country. Thankfully, the Panther Anti Racist Union was formed to help push back against these ignorant agendas. This book tells our story of the arguments we heard from proponents of censorship and the counter points we used to challenge them. These were the arguments we made at rallies, board meetings, in the news and the community.
What is the most surprising thing you discovered while researching or writing the book?
I think one of the most surprising things that I discovered while researching and writing this book is that our story is one of the few examples where the extremists and pro-censorship individuals were defeated. In fact, we didn’t just win once, we won in two different instances of book banning. What I discovered is that our group has found success because we chose to be a strong UNION made up of students, teachers, community members and parents. In other instances across the country, we found that a lot of times the people pushing back against book bans and censorship were limited to students or teachers only. I was surprised to discover that we were one of the first groups to discover the importance and value of bringing students and teachers together as a combined force.
What do you hope readers will learn or discover from reading your book?
I hope that anyone who reads this book will be activated and inspired to stand up and speak out against any censorship, racism or book banning that is happening in their community. This book was written to help people equip themselves with knowledge needed to help combat the common arguments heard in defense of censorship. Through anecdotes and memories from the trenches of the culture wars in schools, I also hope this book provides encouragement and hope to anyone who is afraid to speak up or to anyone who thinks that there is no solution to this problem. This book can help other educators, students and school communities know that they are not alone and that there is a way to beat back the extremism ravaging so many communities across the country right now. It’s not just about book bans. It’s about speaking up when you see something that is not right.
What is one of the more important aspects of the book that you want to share?
I am a firm believer in the freedom to learn, read and speak. Any form of censorship is a clear and present danger to these freedoms. This book talks about why reading and learning new information can be helpful, not hurtful. There is an unfortunate push to limit access to materials that are deemed “inappropriate” for young teens to read. Our book posits that just because a book includes true stories of sexual assault or racist language, does not mean that it is condoning or teaching the reader to participate in those behaviors. The fact of the matter is that young people are going through these things in real life and these books (while not for everyone) can help these students process and understand their situation a bit more. Most importantly, they learn that they are not alone. Moreover, it is not the right of ONE individual parent/guardian or community member to limit access to a book for the rest of a school. Every parent/guardian should have the right to decide what is right or wrong for their OWN child. Hopefully, our book underscores this point and encourages people to push back against any one entity clamoring to censor or limit access to certain materials simply because they don’t like the content.
Patricia Jackson
Patricia A. Jackson is a 29-year veteran in education. She spent the first half of her career as an administrator and teacher in the School District of the City of York. The latter half has been teaching World Literature and Creative Writing at Central York High School. A fierce LGBTQIA+ advocate, Ms. Jackson facilitates The Beautiful People, a student-run club that creates safe spaces for teens within the school community. When the school board voted to ban hundreds of books based on race and sexual orientation, she joined the Panther Anti-Racist Union as co-advisor to assist the successful fight to overturn that ruling. Her fantasy novel Forging a Nightmare debuted in November, 2021 from Angry Robot Books, UK. In 2025 she was an Honorable Mention recipient of the NCTE National Intellectual Freedom Award along with her coauthor, Ben Hodge
When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
I was eight years old when I saw Star Wars and decided I wanted to write. I went home and wrote my first novel about a little girl and her magic horses (each a different color of the rainbow with unique powers) who were trying to save the galaxy. Who needs the Force when you have a horse, right? I’ve been writing ever since.
What can you tell us about your writing process?
I do not interfere with the first draft, just as I would not interrupt a child telling tales of their adventures. I let all the words come out into existence. No matter how chaotic. There is a kind of messy violence in birth, so I let it happen. Once I have the first draft I can cultivate it through the editing process and add the necessary layers to bring it to fullness before I add the polish to send it into the world.
Have you received any feedback from anyone about the overturning of the book bans?
Overwhelmingly the community has been extremely positive and thankful that someone took a stance against these book bans. Many felt they could not speak out of fear. Parent have delivered compliments in the parking lot, at conferences, or even through their children. Community members have sent in cards or written letters, expressing their gratitude, or found their courage and come to board meetings to speak to speak their truth in support of not banning books.
What were the challenges you faced in writing this book, and how did you overcome them?
Mental trauma. Going back to relive and tell the stories of what happened during the banning has given me a minor case of post-traumatic stress. My father taught me that as a Black person, you should never call attention to yourself. It was too dangerous. There were racist members of the board who wanted me fired and worked behind the scenes without other board members’ knowledge to make it happen. If it were not for Vic Walczak of the ACLU, I’m not certain I would still be employed. I was also cyber attacked and prank calls were made to my mother as a warning to me. It was an affirmation that there are some truly terrible people in the world.
What do you hope readers will learn from reading your book?
My hope is the reader learns that books are ideas, and ideas define the human experience. Our lived experiences are different from one human being to another, and no one should have the power to suppress, deny, or abolition that lived experience just because the characters do not think look like them, worship like them, or have experienced a trauma they have not. Human learning is based on experienced and some of the best lessons come to us from people who have suffered in ways we cannot begin to imagine.
What advice would you offer to aspiring writers?
Reconnect with your inner child. No one tells stories like children do, and when we grow up, we often lose this gift via disconnection. Writing is the sacred place, the playground where we can be imaginative and create, so be careful who you invite there. Critics are not allowed. But if you don’t daydream enough or play enough on the creative playground, your craft will never evolve. So play and write.
Free Educator Resource
Students are bound to have questions after reading this book. What’s the first step? How do I articulate my arguments? Download this free teaching guide to spark the conversations needed to fight censorship. This resource can also be found on the Lerner website.
Praise for Ban This!
★”This critically timely and engaging work effectively demonstrates the toll of book bans on communities. A compelling take on tackling censorship that elevates the authentic voices of youths and their allies.”—starred, Kirkus Reviews
Upcoming Events
October 10th
- 6:00pm PACLU Event, Pittsburgh, PA
October 11th
- Banned Book Event – Affirmations Community Center, Ferndale, MI
October 22nd
- 5:30pm, PSEA, Mechanicsburg, PA
October 25th
- 3:00pm, Newton Friends Meeting House, Newton, PA
- 7:00pm, Salem United Church, Doyelsburg, PA