Scorched Earth

Can't Stop Won't Stop was banned and we know why.

This weekend we learned that the Young Adult edition of Can’t Stop Won’t Stop is one of 233 books “quarantined” for removal by the Department of Defense in elementary, middle, and high schools that serve the children of military in 161 schools across 11 countries, seven states, Guam, and Puerto Rico. 

Other books on the list include “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee; “#MeToo: Women Speak Out Against Sexual Assault”; “Looking for Alaska” by John Green; “Generation Brave: The Gen Z Kids Who Are Changing the World” by Kate Alexander; and “Julián is a Mermaid” by Jessica Love. The list also includes books by Margaret Atwood, Toni Morrison, Kurt Vonnegut, and Ta-Nehisi Coates. 

We know exactly why they want to ban our book. 

The story of the power of hip-hop and how it transformed all of us around the world can never be separated from the story of its roots and its source of life. In Can’t Stop Won’t Stop we draw the connections from the Black freedom movement and the Black freedom culture in the U.S. to their impact on the diverse global communities fighting for personal and collective liberation. 

We are immensely thankful to the brave students and parents of these military schools who are fighting back against censorship in their classrooms and libraries. We are grateful to the ACLU lawyers and staff at ACLU Virginia and ACLU Kentucky who have filed a lawsuit and an injunction to stop the Department of Defense’s unconstitutional ban. 

And we stand proudly alongside with our fellow authors and supporters standing against fascism in Authors Against Book Bans.

If you are a teacher or a student facing the removal of our book and need it for your classes, including in arts classes, American History, African American Studies, Ethnic Studies, AP classes, or any others, or you are a parent whose child has had the book taken away, please DM us - we will be happy to replace them. 

They are trying to scorch the earth. But that only means we will grow back stronger than ever before.