June 8, 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
1619 Freedom School Brings Three of America’s Most Acclaimed – and Banned – Authors for Young Readers to Iowa for Free Community Read-In July 18
Free event at Waterloo West High School to put thousands of books, including books banned under SF 496, directly into the hands of local students and families
WATERLOO, Iowa — The 1619 Freedom School will host its second 1619 Freedom School Read-In on Saturday, July 18, at Waterloo West High School. Three of the most celebrated authors writing for young people today, Jason Reynolds, Angie Thomas, and Renée Watson, will join Waterloo native and 1619 Freedom School Founder Nikole Hannah-Jones for a community celebration of reading and storytelling. The event is free and open to all.
Building on the success of its inaugural 2025 1619 Freedom School Read-In, which drew more than 800 attendees, the 2026 event welcomes students, families, educators, and community members. Every family will leave with books, including works by the featured authors, placing culturally meaningful literature directly into the hands of Waterloo’s young readers.
The 1619 Freedom School stepped in to host the African American Read-In last year after the Waterloo district withdrew from the annual Black History Month program over fears that it would violate federal and state anti-DEI mandates. Iowa is second only to Florida in the number of titles it bans from schools, and the state’s districts have removed more than 3,000 books under 2023 state law SF 496.
Among the books targeted under the law is Angie Thomas’s novel The Hate U Give, as well as titles by Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou, and many others. The 1619 Freedom School operates independently of the public school system and is not subject to the law.
“The Read-In is rooted in something our community has always known: that when children see themselves in the books they read, they become better readers, stronger students, and more confident young people,” said Nikole Hannah-Jones, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, founder of the 1619 Freedom School, and a graduate of Waterloo West High School. “Bringing Jason, Angie, and Renée to Waterloo means that kids who grow up here get to sit in the same room as some of the most gifted authors in the country. These are authors who write stories that look and feel like their own lives. That matters for every child who walks through those doors.”
Reynolds, Thomas, and Watson are among the most widely read and decorated authors writing for young people in the country today. Reynolds is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, a MacArthur Fellow, and a former National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature whose books include Long Way Down, Stamped, and the Track series. Watson is a #1 New York Times bestselling author with more than one million books sold, a Newbery Medal recipient for All the Blues in the Sky, and co-author with Hannah-Jones of The 1619 Project: Born on the Water. Thomas is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Hate U Give, adapted into a major motion picture, and On the Come Up, also a major motion picture. All three authors have been confirmed through coordination with Hannah-Jones and the 1619 Freedom School team.
Hannah-Jones noted how rare it is for authors of this caliber to come to a small city like Waterloo, and that the city has likely never seen such a powerhouse group of authors share a single stage. “I am lucky enough that when I reached out to these very busy, very esteemed authors and asked them to join our fight against book bans in my hometown, each one enthusiastically said yes,” Hannah-Jones said. “Our community deserves access to the greatest literary minds, and Black stories deserve to be told and shared in a community where Black students struggle to succeed academically and seldom see themselves in literature.”
The July 18 program will feature author readings, a conversation with the authors moderated by 1619 Freedom School scholars, book signings, and opportunities for students and community members to engage directly with the participating authors.
The 2026 1619 Freedom School Read-In is made possible through the support of sponsors and community partners including the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Dahlstrom family, and Macmillan Publishers.
The 1619 Freedom School Read-In is free and open to the public. Attendees are encouraged to register at www.1619freedomschool.org/2026-readin. Community members who wish to support the Freedom School’s literacy programming may donate at www.1619freedomschool.org/donate.
# # #
About the 1619 Freedom School
Launched in 2021, the 1619 Freedom School is a free, community-based, after-school literacy program where students improve literacy skills and develop a love for reading through liberating instruction centered on Black American history. The program serves Waterloo public school students in grades 3-6 who are at least one grade level behind in reading. The 1619 Freedom School is supported by private grants and donations.
About Nikole Hannah-Jones
Nikole Hannah-Jones is the Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of The 1619 Project, a staff writer at The New York Times Magazine, and the founder of the 1619 Freedom School. She has spent her career investigating racial inequality and injustice. Her reporting has earned her a MacArthur Fellowship, a Peabody Award, two George Polk Awards, the National Magazine Award three times, and an Emmy for her six-part 1619 Project docuseries on Hulu. Hannah-Jones is a native of Waterloo and a graduate of Waterloo West High School, where she was inducted into the school’s Academic Hall of Fame in 2018.
About Jason Reynolds
Jason Reynolds is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of many award-winning books and a recently named MacArthur Fellow. He served as the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature and has appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Daily Show, and CBS Sunday Morning, among other outlets. His books include All American Boys (co-written with Brendan Kiely); the Track series (Ghost, Patina, Sunny, and Lu); Long Way Down, which received a Newbery Honor, a Printz Honor, and a Coretta Scott King Honor; Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You (co-written with Ibram X. Kendi); and There Was a Party for Langston, his debut picture book, which won a Caldecott Honor and a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor. He lives in Washington, D.C.
About Angie Thomas
Angie Thomas was born and raised in Mississippi. Her debut novel, The Hate U Give, and its follow-up, On the Come Up, are both #1 New York Times bestsellers adapted into major motion pictures. In 2021, Thomas returned to the world of Garden Heights with Concrete Rose, a prequel to The Hate U Give, also a New York Times bestseller. She is an inaugural winner of the Walter Dean Myers Grant and the author of the Nic Blake and the Remarkables middle-grade fantasy series.
About Renée Watson
Renée Watson is a #1 New York Times bestselling author with more than one million books sold. Her middle-grade novel All the Blues in the Sky received the John Newbery Medal. Her novel Piecing Me Together received a Coretta Scott King Award and a Newbery Honor, and her poetry collection Black Girl You Are Atlas won the Walter Dean Myers Award and a Coretta Scott King Honor. Watson is co-author with Nikole Hannah-Jones of The 1619 Project: Born on the Water. An educator and community activist for more than 20 years, she has given keynotes and readings at the United Nations, the Library of Congress, and U.S. embassies in Japan and New Zealand. She serves on the Education Advisory Council for the Academy of American Poets.
Media Contact
Joy Harrington
1619 Freedom School
319-427-0314
jharrington@1619freedomschool.org
instagram.com/1619freedomschool/