“People Hate Book Banning. They Just Don’t Know What to Do”: Inside Utah’s Growing Fight for the Freedom to Read

The first gathering did not begin with a formal plan or a polished strategy. It began in the halls of the Utah State Capitol, where a small group of people found themselves asking the same question at the same time.

What is happening to our books, and who is going to do something about it?

For Rebekah Cummings, the answer was not obvious at first. There was no central organization focused on intellectual freedom in Utah, no unified response to the growing confusion around new laws, and no clear roadmap for how to push back. What existed instead was a sense of urgency, a recognition that something was shifting, and a willingness to act anyway.

“It wasn’t well planned,” Cummings said. “We were at the interim session in the fall of 2022, and there was confusion about how districts were implementing the law. Some were following the letter of the law, others were still using existing standards. It was all over the place.”

That confusion became the catalyst. Organizations such as the ACLU of Utah, PEN America, and the Utah Library Association began talking with one another, recognizing a gap that needed to be filled. There was no umbrella group focused specifically on book banning and intellectual freedom in the state.

So they built one.

Let Utah Read began not as a formal institution, but as a coalition of people who cared deeply about access to books and were willing to show up.

“We started in the halls of the Capitol,” Cummings said. “It was just a group of people who cared.”

A Movement That Had to Catch Up Quickly

From the beginning, the challenge was not just organizing. It was catching up.

Groups advocating for censorship had already built infrastructure, messaging, and networks of support. They were coordinated, visible, and effective at mobilizing quickly.

“We felt behind,” Cummings said. “Other groups were already organized. We had to figure out how to build something while the issue was already moving.”

Partnerships became essential. Organizations like the ACLU of Utah brought experience in advocacy and organizing, helping Let Utah Read develop strategies for building political power, creating communication systems, and reaching people beyond the usual circles.

Still, one challenge persisted and continues to this day.

“Finding people out in the world who cared, and mobilizing beyond librarians to the general public, that’s still a challenge,” Cummings explained.

What they discovered, however, was not a lack of concern. It was a lack of clarity.

The Moment People Showed Up

The first major test of the movement came in the form of a read-in at the Capitol. 

No one knew what to expect.

“We didn’t know how many people would show up,” Cummings recalled.

Between 200 and 250 people arrived.

They came to read, to listen, and to make visible what had previously been treated as a quiet administrative issue. The act of reading in a public space transformed the conversation. It shifted the narrative from policy to people, from abstraction to lived experience.

By the following year, that number had grown significantly.

Susan Hiner began volunteering for the group in January of 2025 and became administrative director in June. “We had over 400 people at the read-in this year,” Hiner said.

Growth like that does not happen by accident. It reflects a deeper realization among the public that something important is at stake, even if the policies themselves are complex or difficult to follow.

When Advocacy Changes Outcomes

The work of Let Utah Read has not only raised awareness. It has changed outcomes.

During the 2023 legislative session, a bill that would have made it a Class A misdemeanor to provide certain materials to minors gained significant attention. It had the potential to create fear among educators and librarians, fundamentally altering how books were selected and shared.

Public response played a decisive role.

“That bill was defeated because of public support,” Cummings said. “It ended up being one of the most viewed bills that year.”

Another example came more recently with HB 197, a bill that evolved through multiple revisions but began with sweeping implications. It included provisions that could have allowed individuals to profit from rating books, encouraged lawsuits against school districts, and narrowed the scope of what students could access in libraries.

“It was going to enable parents to sue school districts for every instance of sensitive materials,” Hiner explained.

The bill changed repeatedly as advocacy groups pushed back.

“It took four revisions to get out of committee, and by the end it was unrecognizable,” Hiner said.

Ultimately, it failed in the Senate. For those involved, the outcome reinforced a key lesson. Engagement matters, especially when it is sustained and informed.

What Actually Brings People In

One of the most important insights from Let Utah Read is deceptively simple.

“Ask them,” Cummings said when describing how to get people involved.

It sounds obvious, but it reflects a deeper truth about advocacy. Many people are already aligned with the goal of protecting access to books. What they lack is an invitation and a clear path forward.

“People hate book banning and want to get involved, but they don’t know what to do,” she said.

Providing a roadmap, even a simple one, can transform passive agreement into active participation. Education also plays a critical role.

“People assume books are being banned for a good reason,” Hiner explained.

Once they learn more about the specific titles being challenged, the context often shifts.

Talking about individual books, especially those people recognize from their own reading experiences, helps ground the issue. It reveals patterns that might otherwise go unnoticed, including the disproportionate targeting of certain authors and perspectives.

“Most of the authors being banned are female, or male authors writing about gay experiences,” Hiner said.

These patterns are not incidental. They shape how communities understand what is happening and why it matters.

A Vocal Minority with Outsized Influence

One of the most striking aspects of Utah’s censorship efforts is how concentrated they are.

“Twenty-four out of twenty-five books removed were challenged by one person,” Hiner said.

That reality complicates the narrative that book bans reflect broad public demand.

“Such a tiny vocal minority is doing this,” she added.

At the same time, there is widespread support for reading and access to books.

“People want kids to be well read,” Hiner said. “It’s an unpopular position to be against that.”

The tension between those two truths defines much of the current landscape. A small number of individuals can drive significant policy changes, while a larger but less organized majority struggles to respond quickly enough.

Connecting the Dots

For Cummings, the issue of book banning does not exist in isolation. It is part of a broader pattern that more people are beginning to recognize.

“People are connecting the dots between gerrymandering and attacks on the freedom to vote,” she said. “They’re seeing a bigger picture of a government consolidating power and taking away rights.”

That realization has brought new energy into the movement.

“It’s encouraging to see more people show up for books because they see how it relates to other attacks on democracy,” she added.

There is also an understanding that the scope of censorship can expand if left unchecked.

“They start with schools, then move to public libraries. It’s never enough for them,” Cummings said. “We need to hold the line on this.”

Looking Ahead

As the legislative session ends, the work does not stop. It shifts.

Let Utah Read is focusing on building relationships with legislators, expanding its volunteer base, and preparing for future advocacy. There is also a vision for growth that extends beyond the current structure.

“The dream is to get more chapters throughout the state,” Hiner said.

That vision reflects a recognition that sustainable change requires local engagement across regions, not just centralized efforts.

At the same time, there is hope that the political landscape itself may evolve.

“I would like to see the political appetite for book banning decrease,” Cummings said. “That it becomes clear it’s not politically advantageous to be a book banner.”

Holding the Line

In Utah, the fight for the freedom to read is still unfolding. It is shaped by legislation, by community response, and by the everyday decisions of people choosing whether to speak up or stay silent.

What Let Utah Read has demonstrated is that advocacy does not require perfect conditions or complete certainty. It requires attention, persistence, and a willingness to act even when the path forward is unclear.

It begins, often, with something simple.

A conversation.
A question.
An invitation.

And sometimes, with people gathering in a public space, opening a book, and reading aloud, not because it is easy, but because it matters.