Source:
Cindy
Ord
/
Getty
Celebrated
actor
LeVar
Burton
threw
some
shade
at
the
conservative
Moms
For
Liberty
group
during
a
recent
speech,
causing
the
group
to
protest
his
words
online.
On
Wednesday
(Nov.
15),
LeVar
Burton
began
his
opening
remarks
as
the
host
of
the
74th
National
Book
Awards
&
Benefit
Dinner,
which
was
held
in
New
York
City.
“I
had
the
tremendous
honor
of
serving
as
the
Master
of
Ceremonies
for
the
70th
National
Book
Awards
in
2019
and
it
genuinely
means
the
world
to
me
to
join
you
all
on
this
stage
to
celebrate
the
importance
of
literature
to
our
shared
culture,
Burton
began.
“Before
we
get
going,
are
there
any
Moms
for
Liberty
in
the
house?
Moms
for
Liberty?
No?
Good!
Then
hands
will
not
need
to
be
thrown
tonight.”
The
conservative
group,
who
have
made
it
their
mission
to
advocate
against
books
that
have
topics
such
as
sexuality,
race
and
gender
being
in
school
libraries,
decided
to
take
that
as
a
threat
by
Burton
and
wrote
as
much
in
a
post
on
X,
formerly
Twitter,
soon
after
word
of
that
part
of
the
speech
made
the
rounds
on
the
Internet.
“American
moms
weep
as
a
childhood
favorite,
Reading
Rainbow,
calls
for
physical
attacks
against
us
because
we
are
protecting
the
innocence
of
our
children,”
the
post
began
before
calling
Burton
out
by
name
asking
him
“why
have
you
sunk
so
low?
Threatening
physical
violence
against
women?”
The
post
has
gained
traction
among
the
right-wing
media
establishment
and
has
also
caught
the
attention
of
a
few
far-right
personalities.
The
Star
Trek:
The
Next
Generation
actor
has
been
highly
vocal
about
supporting
literary
freedom.
He
replaced
Drew
Barrymore
as
the
event
host
after
the
National
Book
Awards
retracted
their
invitation
to
the
television
host
in
the
wake
of
her
decision
to
resume
production
of
her
show
during
the
SAG-AFTRA
strike.
“On
the
home
front,
we
are
fighting
for
control
of
truth
and
how
we
interpret
truth
in
this
country,”
LeVar
Burton
said
during
his
speech.
“Books
are
being
banned,
words
are
being
silenced,
and
writers
and
others
who
champion
books
are
under
attack.”
