Leah Johnson open Loudmouth books on E. 16th Street after her own bestselling book “You Should See Me in a Crown,” was banned. Now, the Indianapolis native is getting national attention.
“When you can see yourself in fiction, where you can see your experiences reflected back to you, it is an assertion that there is nothing wrong with you. You are not alone,” she said.
This year, after her home state of Indiana passed a law that bans books deemed to be “obscene” or “harmful to minors” from school libraries, Johnson said she felt she had to act. A novel approach Johnson said she was inspired to create the bookstore after her mom, Indiana state Rep. Renee Pack, campaigned against HB 1447, the state bill that would remove “material from the school library that is obscene … or harmful to minors.”If my mom can speak my name in rooms, I’m not even in, then I should be showing up in those rooms myself. I should be affirming for myself that I deserve to be here just as much as anybody else,” Johnson said.
Johnson said representation in fiction novels is crucial and book bans can be especially harmful to students of color and those who are part of the LGBTQ community.
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