Tuesday, November 4, 2025

5:30 - 7:30 p.m.

Posner Center for International Development

1031 33rd Street

Denver, CO

As book bans surge across the country at an unprecedented rate, targeting stories by and about marginalized communities, librarians have become unexpected warriors in one of today’s most urgent battles over free expression and the future of democracy. Over 10,000 books were banned in public schools last year alone, with most of the bans centering on themes of race, gender, and identity.

This program will feature a panel of librarians who were terminated for refusing to comply with censorship demands. These individuals put their jobs on the line to protect the public’s right to read. Our panel will discuss the escalating clash between censorship and intellectual freedom, the legal and political threats facing librarians and educators, and the broader implications for democracy, public education, and civil rights. This is not just a conversation about books but about power, access, and whose stories are allowed to be told.

In line with this year’s CWBA theme of Speak Up, this fundraiser directly fuels the CWBA’s lobbying and public policy work at the Colorado state legislature and beyond—work that is urgently needed to fight back against censorship, protect civil rights, and ensure marginalized voices are not silenced.

Click here to donate directly to make a one-time or recurring donation to the CWBA's lobbying fund now!



MEET OUR PANELISTS

Suzette Baker

Summer Boismier

Terri Lesley

Brooky Parks

Rhea Young

Suzette Baker is the former (terminated) Head Librarian for the Kingsland branch of the Llano County, Texas Library System. After working in the Library in Penrose, Colorado, she moved back to Texas, where she currently resides. As a military veteran and mother, the importance of free libraries has been a core fixture in her life.

Summer Boismier (she/her) is an English language arts educator and University of Oklahoma doctoral student whose work focuses on free expression issues, culturally sustaining pedagogies, and educational equity in public schools. A nationally recognized youth intellectual freedom advocate, she is also a recipient of the Oklahoma State Department of Education's 2019 Rising Star Award and Piedmont Public Schools’ 2018-2019 District Teacher of the Year honor. In 2024, the Oklahoma State Board of Education unanimously revoked her teaching certificate for telling her students about a public library card.

Terri Lesley, a lifetime resident of Wyoming, has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Marketing from the University of Wyoming and a Master of Library and Information Science degree from the University of North Texas. She worked in the library field for 27 years and held the Executive Director position of the Campbell County Public Library System from 2012 to July 2023. Terri experienced a well-executed political attack on intellectual freedom during the last two years of her employment by a group of local citizens who were affiliated with a nationally recognized hate group. Terri fought to protect her staff and the First Amendment rights of all community members. She was ultimately fired by the Library Board in a fashion that garnered national attention and continues to fight this injustice.

Brooky Parks began her career in public libraries serving children and teens and is dedicated to promoting inclusion. After being wrongfully terminated for resisting censorship, she won a precedent-setting lawsuit and received the 2023 Julie J. Boucher Memorial Award for Intellectual Freedom from the Colorado Association of Libraries (CAL). She has since transitioned to academic libraries and is an Assistant Professor and Business and Economics Reference Librarian at the University of Denver.

Rhea Young: Originally from Splendora, Texas, Rhea spent 32 years in the local school district as a teacher and librarian before serving as Library Director for the Montgomery County Memorial Library. She was recently terminated for resisting segregation and stigmatizing of LGBTQ+ themed books in the library district. She recently filed a lawsuit in federal court in Texas and continues to fight discrimination and censorship. 

Read about Terri Lesley's case in The New York Times!

General Admission: $65

Law Students & Paralegal Students: $30

Cost includes event admission, plus one drink ticket and appetizers.

Can't attend? Sponsor a law student, educator, or another member to attend! Options available with registration.

OPEN NOW! The return of our popular and huge silent auction!

We will have many incredible items up for bid, with new items being added daily. In-person attendance is not required to participate in this silent auction.

Check out these items now open for bids!

If you would like to donate a silent auction item, fun experience, gift card, or vacation, please submit this item donation form. Questions? Please contact Ariana Busby at ariana.s.busby@gmail.com.

THANK YOU, SPONSORS!

Sponsorships are also available online or contact CWBA Executive Director Kim Sporrer at execdir@cwba.org. 

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SUPPORTING SPONSOR

All funds raised through this event will support the Colorado Women’s Bar Association's vitally important public policy work and its lobbyist activities. The CWBA is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit corporation. Ticket costs, sponsorships, silent auction purchases, and CWBA donations are not tax-deductible as a charitable contribution but may be deductible as an ordinary and necessary business expense, subject to exclusion for lobbying activity. Please consult with your professional tax advisor for further advice.