A leadership program for student activists fighting for the freedom to read
— American Library Association
With book bans and challenges on the rise, students across the country are exercising their right to read. As part of the SPEAK! Activist Network, students immerse themselves in the freedom to read movement and diversify bookshelves in their classrooms and communities.
Submit Your Application
To join the SPEAK! Activist Network, students are required to complete a 1 semester program which includes online coursework, monthly meetings, and planning and executing an activist campaign in their community.
Complete the Program
In Part 1 of the program, SPEAK! Activists will immerse themselves in the Freedom to Read movement by completing coursework on the following topics:
(1) Book Bans vs. The Classroom Canon
(2) Meet the Resistance
(3) Understand the Opposition
(4) Student Bill of Rights
(5) Creating an Activist Campaign
In Part 2 of the program, SPEAK! Activists will apply what they've learned in Part 1 and executive their Freedom to Read campaign.
Renew Your Membership Each Semester
You can be a member of the SPEAK! Activist Network as long as you are a middle or high school student. To renew your membership, you can expand on your campaign or execute a new Freedom to Read campaign each semester. You will no longer complete coursework, but you will continue to join monthly meetings with other members and tell the story of your campaign(s).
We believe literature by and for students deserve a place in the classroom, so that every student can feel inspired by what they read.
