Drag performer Adam Powell, LGBTQ historian Dr. Eric Cervini, and their Rainbow Book Bus, have just completed their very first U.S. tour!
The Rainbow Book Bus aims to promote and protect access to representative books and media for queer communities and anyone impacted by anti-inclusive legislation. Adam Powell joined GLAAD Communications Consultant Allison Bloom to talk about his experience driving the “loud, proud, and very queer bookmobile” around the United States and distributing LGBTQ literature to communities that need it most.
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“It’s kind of like planning a wedding, there’s so much lead up to it and then you do it and then you’re done with it,” Powell says about the tour coming to an end. “It almost feels like an out of body experience. But it was so wonderful… we gave away around 7,000, books which was absolutely amazing.”
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Powell talks about data recently put out by the American Library Association, “There are over 4,000 books that are being challenged or banned. And when you look at those, the top five are all LGBTQ+ books.” On top of this, a recent study by PEN America found a 33% increase of book bans enacted across 153 districts during the 2022/2023 school year, from the year prior. 30%, meaning 997 of these books contained LGBTQ+ characters or themes.
Captured at Dad’s Garage in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 10, 2024. — by Kevin Lowery for @weymouthwatson
This is where Powell comes to the rescue. “My partner Eric and I launched a fundraiser back in 2022 to convert a retired 22 foot school bus into a big magical queer book fair. Think, Scholastic Book Fair meets, Miss Frizzle’s Magic School Bus... but make it queer,” he explains.
“Our way to combat that is if you’re gonna ban these books, we’re gonna pack them full in a Rainbow Book Bus and travel across the country and give them away for free.” Powell talks about how meaningful this tour was. “Working with different LGBT centers along the way, giving books to kids, to parents, to teachers, to pastors, anyone who felt like they could benefit from a queer library, we really believe that it’s not only important but essential to be able to see yourself in these stories.”
He talks about what it was like working in the deep south, where the majority of this anti-LGBTQ legislation and book banning is taking place. “It’s easy to be an activist and advocate in a big city. But the people who are in these areas in Birmingham or Memphis or Atlanta, who are on the ground doing the work, it was just so special to see.” He continues, “These communities are not only existing, but they are thriving.”
The tour didn’t go without a few challenges along the way. “We’re taking this big, rainbow, 22 foot bus and driving it through Texas, driving it through Florida. When we were in Alabama, we were about 30 miles outside of Birmingham. The bus broke down,” Powell begins. “It was pouring rain, the radiator broke. The bus was going like 15 miles an hour on the freeway in rural Alabama. Trucks were driving by with Confederate flags on them.”
“We had no idea what we were gonna encounter, but my takeaway is that people were kind, they were inquisitive,” he explains. Powell says the truck was never vandalized, people were simply curious. “A lot of people had never seen a Rainbow Book Bus, they had never seen or talked about queer books. So, getting to have those conversations felt really important.”
As an expert on queer literature, Powell highly recommends 100 Boyfriends by Brontez Purnell and Dancer from the Dance by Andrew Holleran.
To close, Powell offers a message to the anti-LGBTQ lawmakers and school boards, working to make inclusive literature inaccessible to students. “You can erase these books but you cannot not erase our stories.”
He begs the question, “So many of these stories that they’re trying to ban, talk about creativity, self expression, kindness, being inquisitive. Why are you trying to take those stories away?” He adds, “We know that there is a mental health crisis going on with Gen Z… they’re seeing that these books that reflect themselves are being taken away.”
“Our stories are not gonna go away. We’ve always been there. We’ve always existed. We’ve always thrived and been resilient.”
Captured at Dad’s Garage in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 10, 2024. — by Kevin Lowery for @weymouthwatson
Be sure to follow Adam and the Rainbow Book Bus on social media and learn more about how you can support their mission here!