Each year, libraries and affiliated organizations raise awareness about banned books and legislative attacks on the freedom to read by celebrating Banned Books Week (already underway, Oct. 1-7, 2023). As libraries face the toughest year for book bans in recent memory, NYC’s public libraries are asking New Yorkers to participate in a #FreedomToRead Day of Action on Wednesday, October 4 as part of a general effort to Unite Against Book Bans.

While book bans in school and public libraries have dominated recent headlines, access to literature for the incarcerated is often overlooked. So-called carceral book bans constitute a form of censorship that would have been very familiar to Martin Sostre. Visitors to the Mina Rees Library may have noticed our display cases on the first floor featuring materials inspired by the prisoners’ rights activist.

Photo of Martin Sostre’s Afro-Asian Bookshop in Exile

Martin Sostre ran a radical bookstore (The Afro-Asian Bookshop) in Buffalo, NY, and he was wrongfully imprisoned after the FBI raided and shut down the shop in 1967. He became an advocate for prisoners’ rights and worked to improve access to books in prisons, among other issues. To celebrate what would have been Sostre’s 100th birthday, the New York Public Library’s Jail and Prison Services division held a two-day event in March 2023. As part of this gathering, a pop-up exhibit of the “Afro-Asian Bookstore in Exile” was installed in the lobby of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. The exhibit is a replica of the tables that were set up on several college campuses under the banner, “Afro-Asian Bookshop in Exile,” to raise funds for his defense and distribute some of the books and pamphlets that had been in the shop. The NYPL installation included books from Sostre’s personal library, books from NYPL’s collections, zines and other materials.

The pop-up exhibit from NYPL’s Jail and Prison Services unit, on display at the “Sostre at 100” event at the Schomburg Center in March 2023.

Following the event, the NYPL Jail and Prison Services team then donated the posters and signs to Reclaim the Commons activists who had transformed the Graduate Center’s 8th Floor Dining Commons into a community space and food pantry. Within two weeks, the Graduate Center’s upper administration dismantled the exhibit, echoing the history of Sostre’s bookstore and, in effect, placing the exhibit itself in exile. Librarians then arranged for the posters to be displayed in the library, using the first floor exhibit area along 34th Street, near the Dissertation Reading Room, where you can view them today. We are grateful for the opportunity to extend this celebration of Sostre’s legacy into the Mina Rees Library and continue to raise awareness of the challenges faced by those working to ensure the right to read in prisons and correctional facilities.

Installing the exhibition in the Mina Rees Library

Sostre’s work to expand access to literature in prisons is especially relevant today as we see a steep rise in censorship and restrictive policies for prison libraries (see, for example, PEN America’s report, “Literature Locked Up: How Prison Book Restriction Policies Constitute the Nation’s Largest Book Ban“). Here in NYC, our three public library systems all have units dedicated to serving the city’s jail and prison populations, and professional associations and community organizations have supported librarians and others working in this area. At CUNY, the University Faculty Senate’s Committee for Higher Education in the Prisons brings together a broad swath of individuals involved in related initiatives across campuses. As a testament to the work to be done in this area, librarians at CUNY have newly formed a Services for Incarcerated People Roundtable with the Library Association of CUNY to share resources and provide community to CUNY library workers who volunteer in this area.

Looking for more ways to take action in support of access to literature in prisons? Join the Return to Sender: Take Action Day on Saturday, Oct. 7 (12-6:30pm) at the People’s Forum, part of the six-week exhibition curated by Mariame Kaba that explores “prison as censorship.” The daylong event includes volunteer training for the Prison Library Support Network, creative activities, and a mini zine fair.

Further Reading and Resources on Martin Sostre

• Frame Up! The Imprisonment of Martin Sostre, a film by Joel Sucher and and Steven Fischler, was released in 1974 by Pacific Street Films. (Available via the GC Library or on Youtube)
• “How One Inmate Changed the Prison System from the Inside” National Public Radio’s Code Switch podcast extra and article focused on Martin Sostre
• New York Public Library research guide on the Repression of Black Bookstores includes a few sections with resources and links about Martin Sostre
• Among other resources on the website of The Martin Sostre Institute, there are two lesson plans related to the life of Martin Sostre.

This post was co-authored by Roxanne Shirazi and Alycia Sellie.

Sostre installation in the 8th Floor Dining Commons

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