Nuestra Palabra founder Tony Diaz demonstrates a video broadcast in the organizations new studio Monday, Sep. 30, 2024 in Houston.
Military veterans don't typically come to mind when we talk about those impacted by banned books.
Yet a month ago, Tony Diaz loaded up copies of "Latino Poetry: The Library of America Anthology" to distribute to military veterans at local community centers.
Diaz has become one of the nation's leading forces in fighting book bans and cultural censorship. Because of legislation restricting the books schools can offer, the anthology has been hard to place in schools.
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It was a Friday steak night, so Diaz, the founder and executive director of Nuestra Palabra, a community advocacy non-profit that promotes Latino literature, culture and arts, didn't have lofty expectations for attendance. He figured he'd talk with some veterans, hand out a few books and enjoy a steak.
Surprisingly, he and his staff were swarmed by veterans, many of whom were Mexican American. They wanted the book and were eager to share their stories about why getting a copy........