The Austin Community College District’s (ACC) Service-Learning Program, in collaboration with Interfaith Action of Central Texas, hosts The Red Bench Dialogue Event on Tuesday, October 24. ACC employees, students, and the community are invited to attend this free, in-person event.

The fall 2023 conversation topic is “Banned Books.” Dinner is included. Registration is required.

The Red Bench: Conversations that Matter

Date: Tuesday, October 24, 2023

Time: 6 – 8 p.m.

Location: ACC Eastview Campus, Building 8000, Room 8500

About the Topic

As the American Library Association (ALA) notes, “Books usually are challenged with the best intentions—to protect others, frequently children, from difficult ideas and information.” However, the ALA “promotes the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one’s opinions even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular, and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those viewpoints to all who wish to read them.”  

ACC Dean of Library Services, Keri Moczygemba, will frame this issue for participants, who will then be invited to share their own experiences through empathetic and structured table conversations hosted by trained ACC Social Psychology and Peace and Conflict Studies students. 

About The Red Bench

Interfaith Action of Central Texas describes the Red Bench as “an ongoing dialogue program designed to address one of the most pressing needs of our time: improving interfaith understanding and civil discourse in our society.” 

For more information, email Linda Cox, Service-Learning Program Coordinator, at [email protected]. 

Tags: American Library Association, Banned Books, Service-Learning Program, The Red BEnch, The Red Bench Dialogue