Barack Obama
Former President Barack Obama
  • Obama slammed efforts to ban books in a message to the nation's librarians.
  • The former president is also taking his advocacy to TikTok where he'll appear in a series of videos.
  • Obama said banning books is antithetical "to what has made this country great."

Former President Barack Obama on Monday issued a call to action for Americans to be mindful of efforts to ban books as new studies show that a rise in challenges is sparked primarily by a wave against LGBTQ+ books.

"It's also important to understand that the world is watching," Obama wrote in a public letter to the nation's librarians. "If America – a nation built on freedom of expression – allows certain voices and ideas to be silenced, why should other countries go out of their way to protect them?"