This September, I joined the ACLU’s Know Your Rights Bus Tour on its third and fourth stops in Philadelphia, PA and Detroit, MI. In Philly, we kicked off the festivities with our first ACLU Know Your Rights live game show. Hosted by W. Kamau Bell, the contestants included exceptional local drag queens and activists. We closed the evening with a recording of our At Liberty podcast, hosted by W. Kamau Bell, in an inspiring discussion with Mike Lee, the executive director of ACLU Pennsylvania, about the unique challenges Philly faces as one of the poorer big cities, as well on the importance of voting.

In Detroit, the tour included a sold-out concert with the legendary rapper, singer, and songwriter Danny Brown for a one-night-only, hometown performance. Danny got people amped up to get out and vote.

Want to join the tour? Check out our upcoming stops. If you’re not able to catch us on tour, you can pledge to vote.

Below, find photos and videos from Philly and Detroit:

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The bus pulled up to the Theatre of the Living Arts (TLA) on South Street. We were greeted by a big Marquee announcing the fun evening ahead to the neighborhood. We loved getting to explore the neighborhood before the big night.

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After the crowd settled in their seats, complete with some ACLU swag and free Ben & Jerry’s —I got strawberry cheesecake, thank you for asking — the game show was off to the races. Award-winning producer, director, comedian, and ACLU Racial Justice Ambassador W. Kamau Bell quizzed our contestants on voting rights, local Philly legends, pop culture, and more.

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Meet our contestants! Philly’s “Phattest RagDoll” Tiffany Uma Mascara took the stage to represent Gen Z. VinChelle, crowned “Best of Philly” by The Philadelphia Inquirer, showed us her stuff. Ajour “Di” Hargrove brought her Philly roots to the show and left it all on the stage.

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Tiffany and VinChelle celebrating with some hard-won La Colombe drinks.

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What better way to end the evening than an energizing discussion about the power of our vote and the wonderful Philadelphia community? After a fun and rowdy game show, I left feeling informed and empowered to use my voice this election season.

When we arrived in Detroit, Loren Khogali, executive director for the ACLU of Michigan, welcomed hundreds into the beautiful Garden Theater in preparation for another electrifying night.

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The show kicked off with a live taping of the ACLU’s podcast, At Liberty, hosted once again by the exceptional W. Kamau Bell in conversation with Razi Jafri, a Detroit-based documentary filmmaker and producer, and Loren Khogali, the executive director at the ACLU of Michigan. The three discussed the importance of voting rights, and the activism in Michigan communities that has helped bring so much change to the state.

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Legendary Detroit rapper, singer, and songwriter Danny Brown took the stage for a one-of-a-kind hometown performance and the audience just couldn’t get enough. His enthusiasm and flow was unmatched!

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Audience members were hyped up and dancing the whole night, singing along to their favorite Danny tracks. One audience member I talked to had been to 14 other Danny Brown shows and has loved the artist for over a decade, and was honored to see him at the Garden Theater.

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Danny brought down the house! He filled the room with his singular sound, which has given him such an engaged following over the years. I left the show both with a renewed appreciation for the Detroit music scene, and a sense of urgency to go vote.

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In 1982, Judith Krug co-founded Banned Books Week to combat educational censorship and celebrate intellectual freedom. She was a librarian by training who became a champion for First Amendment rights. Over 40 years later, our progress to expand our literary world and the stories accessible to students is regressing. 

Today, book banning is rampant, with Florida as an unapologetic leader, removing an unprecedented number of materials from public schools. Mimicking discriminatory attacks across the state, it is no coincidence that the majority of books at-issue are either written by or portray the lives and experiences of members of the Black, Brown, and LGBTQIA+ communities. Spanning from the delightful tale of two male penguins falling in love and raising a chick at the Central Park Zoo, as described in “And Tango Makes Three” by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, to the vibrant picture book titled “I is for Immigrants” by Selina Alko, which celebrates the multifaceted and distinctive experiences of immigrants, to the harrowing but indispensable story that further exposes slavery in the United States, as artfully relayed by Toni Morrison in “Beloved.” This targeted censorship robs students of learning about the authentic experiences that form part of American society. 

The significance of educating our youth is paramount. However, the education we provide cannot be manipulated—limited by viewpoint, personal biases, and whitewashing. Instead, students must have the freedom to read and to learn about the real histories and accounts of all people within this nation. As individuals, when we are exposed to a story, regardless of the genre, we tend to compare ourselves to the characters presented. Learning about the lives of others is an essential practice of exploration and empathy, and doing so through books highlights their profound impact.

For young people of color, self-identified members or those exploring their identities within the LGBTQIA+ community, these connections are especially significant for personal development and often serve as a way to escape the harsh realities of today’s world. Like living in a state that repeatedly rejects you because of your race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, and/or immigration status—to name a few. Denying youth the ability to learn not only about others, but also themselves is isolating, stigmatizing, and will have harmful effects on them as well as the future of our nation. 

While we at the ACLU of Florida are disappointed by our state’s starring role in censorship, we know these are efforts we can resist. In partnership with Democracy Forward and the Southern Poverty Law Center, we are awaiting a court decision for litigation addressing the removal of materials from public schools and the First Amendment restrictions imposed by the Florida government. The lawsuit was filed this June 2024 on behalf of parents of Florida public school students who were denied their First Amendment rights because of a state law that discriminates against individuals who oppose book bans and censorship. 

But resistance does not end in the courtroom. We can all fight against censorship. Read a banned book. Start a book club. Create a Little Free Library in your neighborhood. Dedicate yourself to sharing everyone’s stories—this week and every other week.