Banned Together

Banned Together
Directed byKate Way
Tom Wiggin
Produced byTom Wiggin
Jennifer Dumas
StarringIsabella Troy Brazoban
Elizabeth Foster
Millie Bennett
Release dates
  • October 2, 2024 (2024-10-02) (Florence, Massachusetts)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Banned Together is a 2024 American documentary film directed by Kate Way and Tom Wiggin. It follows a group of high school students in Beaufort, South Carolina, who were fighting to reinstate 97 books which had been removed from their school libraries.

Background

In October 2022, the Beaufort County School District removed 97 books from library shelves following challenges from a small group of community members. Most of the targeted novels were aimed at young adult readers and featured LGBTQ or BIPOC characters.

Three students—Isabella Troy Brazoban, Elizabeth Foster and Millie Bennett—utilized the Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization (DAYLO) to organize student testimony and community rallies. DAYLO, originally a school-based book club, evolved under their leadership into a regional advocacy network. The group's efforts were credited with the eventual reinstatement of 91 of the 97 challenged titles.

Troy Brazoban has since spoken at national forums, including the American Library Association’s (ALA) "Rally for the Right to Read" in 2023, where she highlighted the role of libraries as "bridges" to understanding marginalized experiences.

Production

The documentary was produced by Atomic Focus Entertainment, a production company owned by actor-director Tom Wiggin and his wife Jennifer Dumas. It was co-directed by Kate Way, an assistant professor at University of Massachusetts Lowell and herself a former high school teacher.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Brown, Carolyn (2 November 2024). "How free speech is won". Daily Hampshire Gazette. p. C1.
  2. 1 2 "Book-banning documentary to screen here today". LNP Lancaster Online. 17 August 2024. p. A6.
  3. 1 2 Peet, Lisa (9 April 2025). "'Banned Together' Documentary Celebrating Student Advocacy To Stream April 10". Library Journal.
  4. ↑ Dickinson, Evelyn (3 December 2024). "Book Ban Documentary Elevates Student Voices". GLAAD.
  5. ↑ Foster, Elizabeth (2025-04-16). "We Took on Book Bans in Our Small Conservative Community — and Won". Teen Vogue. Retrieved 2026-03-06.
  6. ↑ Comms, NCAC (2025-04-04). "DAYLO – Words That Empower, Voices That Matter". National Coalition Against Censorship. Retrieved 2026-03-06.
  7. ↑ Fort, Valerie Byrd. "Rally for the Right to Read Kicks Off the Conference | ALA Annual 2023". Library Journal. Retrieved 2026-03-06.