Oprah Winfrey attacks book banning at National Book Awards as she tells how Maya Angelou novel helped her when she was raped as a child – as LeVar Burton threatens to FIGHT Moms for Liberty

Oprah Winfrey has criticized the banning of books at the National Book Awards, saying Maya Angelou’s ‘I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings’ helped her grapple with being raped as a child.

The TV mogul first revealed she had been abused as a child on her talk show in 1986, saying Angelou’s book – which she read at the age of 15 – gave a “voice” to her pain.

The 74th annual National Book Awards were peppered with political commentary, with a focus on banning books. Among them was host LeVar Burton, an actor, who took a swipe at Moms for Liberty.

Winfrey has openly shared details of her traumatic history of sexual assault, revealing that she was abused by several family members, including an uncle, until she was 14 – when she became pregnant and sent to live with her father.

The baby died two weeks after delivery. She was previously raped by her 19-year-old cousin, who abused her for years. She never revealed his name.

“I was 15 years old when I read my first variety book ‘I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings’ by Maya Angelou and the whole world fell away from me,” said Winfrey, a special guest at the NBA, as she addressed the crowd . crowd.

‘It was the first book I ever read with a black protagonist when I was fifteen, that book gave a voice to my silences, my secrets. It gave words to my pain and confusion about being raped at the age of nine.

“Until ‘Cage Bird,’ I didn’t know there was a language, that there were words for what happened to me or that any other human on earth had experienced it. That is the power of books.’

Winfrey went on to say that banning books is intended to “extinguish the flame of truth about what it means to be alive.”

Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice (left) said, “It is truly disheartening that someone who has been so influential in the lives of children can stoop so low as to threaten their mothers.” She is pictured with Tina Descovich, who also co-founded the group

“What it means to be aware, what it means to be involved in the world, to ban books is to cut us off from each other,” she said.

‘To envelop us in a lonely darkness, a soulless echo chamber, and to ban books is to strangle the very thing that sustains us and makes us better people.

“Connection, compassion, empathy, understanding and I hope that children start reading for the same reason that all of us in this room started reading, to see themselves in the characters they meet, to feel validated, to feel understood. ‘

Between 2021 and 2022, the American Library Association saw a 70 percent increase in requests to ban books from public schools and libraries.

Winfrey gestured that we could expect that number to increase this year.

‘It looks like this year is going to be even worse. The initial figures show that the number has already increased,” she said.

“More than 75 percent of banned books were written specifically for younger readers, 41 percent had LGBTQ themes or characters, 40 percent had a main or secondary character of color, so who exactly is trying to keep these books off the shelves? It is not the majority of books that are banned. parents.’

Burton echoed Winfrey’s condemnation for banning books and started the evening with a swipe at Moms for Liberty.

The parent advocacy group has risen to prominence as liberal critics accused them of driving book ban efforts in school districts across the country.

Moms for Liberty has previously denied accusations that it is trying to ban books, instead regularly challenging sexually explicit books in school libraries.

The 74th annual event was peppered with political commentary, focusing on banning books, with host LeVar Burton also taking a swipe at Moms for Liberty

‘Before we go, are there any mothers for freedom in the house? Mothers for freedom? No? Good,” Burton said grimly to the crowd as he nodded.

“Then there’s no need to throw hands tonight,” he added, as the crowd roared with laughter and cheers.

Burton added that it was his mother who taught him that if you can read in at least one language, you are free by her definition.

“That idea of ​​freedom feels particularly charged in this global political moment,” he said.

‘There are wars and rumors of wars and the war machines are at work. On the home front, we are fighting for control over the truth and how we interpret the truth in this country.

“Books are banned, words are silenced, and writers and others who advocate books are attacked.

“There’s a reason why I believe books are under attack, because they are so powerful.”

Speak with Fox News digital Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice said, “It is truly disheartening that someone who has been so influential in the lives of children can stoop so low to threaten their mothers.”

‘What are people like LeVar Burton trying to hide from us that it has to come to physical violence to protect their agenda? We will not be deterred, we will continue to fight for our children every step of the way.”

From nine to twelve years old, she was raped by her cousin. Oprah has previously opened up about her rape by several family members until she was 14

In a statement ahead of the event, the National Book Awards told the broadcaster it expected “political” or even “controversial” speeches from the nominees.

“If political statements are made, they are by no means unprecedented in the history of the National Book Awards, or any awards ceremony for that matter,” the statement said.

‘We are working with the venue to ensure a safe environment for all our guests.

‘We certainly hope that everyone who attends the National Book Awards, in person or online, comes away with a spirit of understanding, compassion and humanity – the very things that inspire the books we love.’

In addition to Burton’s comments, a number of NBA finalists opened the awards ceremony about the war between Israel and Hamas.

As author Aaliyah Bilal read a prepared statement, she was joined by 20 of the 25 finalists who opposed “the continued bombing of Gaza and called for a humanitarian ceasefire.”

There have been 3,362 cases of book bans in US public school classrooms and libraries between July 2022 and June 2023, involving 1,557 different titles.