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Leonard Fernandes

@leonardfernandes.bsky.social

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Bookshop co-owner based in India. Has got a lot to say, mostly unsolicited:)

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Reposted by Leonard Fernandes

Princeton University Press

@princetonupress.bsky.social

Booksellers have faced censorship and harassment defending the freedom to read. Celebrate your local bookstore and support their ongoing role in safeguarding intellectual freedom.

press.princeton.edu/ideas/bookst...

#BookstoreDay

This essay traces the long and turbulent history of American booksellers who have faced censorship, harassment, and even violence for defending the freedom to read. Through vivid anecdotes and historical cases-from undercover stings in the early 1900s and legal battles over “obscene” literature, to FBI surveillance of Black bookstores and bomb threats against feminist and LGBTQ+ shops-the author illustrates how bookstores have repeatedly become battlegrounds in the fight for civil liberties and free expression. Despite intimidation from both government and private groups, booksellers have pushed back, shaping legal precedents and rallying communities to defend First Amendment rights. The essay ultimately calls on readers to recognize bookstores as “arsenals of democracy” and to support their ongoing role in safeguarding intellectual freedom.

April 26, 2025 at 2:10 AM

Leonard Fernandes

@leonardfernandes.bsky.social

While Independent Bookstore Day is being observed in the US this Saturday, do support independent bookshops here in India too. Here's a list that Peter Griffin has meticulously compiled: zigzackly.blogspot.com/2022/06/indi...