TEXAS LGBTQ AND STUDENT RIGHTS ACTIVIST CAMERON SAMUELS ADDRESSES SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE ON BOOK BANS

(Washington, D.C. – September 12, 2023) — Texas native, LGBTQ activist and Executive Director of Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT) Cameron Samuels testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, Sept. 12 and addressed book bans happening across Texas and the rest of the country.

Samuels is an advocate defending the rights of students and free expression. As a nonbinary and Jewish student, Samuels spoke on their past experience and emphasized the importance of literature and reading in the education system. They also spoke on the dangers of censorship in the Lone Star State.

VIEW THE FULL REMARKS HERE

TRANSCRIPT OF TESTIMONY HERE

GLAAD elevated Samuels’ testimony on Instagram

“Historically, censorship is never on the right side of history. My state is home to 8 million people under the age of 20,” Samuels said. “Since everything is bigger in Texas, we lead the nation in book bans.”

“Censorship impacts our futures. Students deserve to be decision makers,” they added. “Censorship is undemocratic.”

Samuels was named one of GLAAD’s 20 Under 20 Honorees in 2022 for their organizing efforts against book bans and censorship in Texas. They have been featured in NBC’s #Pride30 List and has been recognized by former President Barack Obama for their efforts fighting queer censorship.

About SEAT:

Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT) is a movement of young people developing transferable skills and demonstrating youth visibility in policymaking. By engaging in constructive action with active engagement in hands-on opportunities of advocacy and
education, we’re creating a vehicle for driving civic transformation as we build a social movement for bettering our communities and dismantling oppressive power structures. SEAT can be followed on Instagram and Facebook.