IFRT Members Community (Open)

Join the Freedom to Read Foundation, Intellectual Freedom Round Table, and University of Illinois School of Information Sciences for a celebration of intellectual freedom heroes, with a keynote by New York Times bestselling illustrator Nikkolas Smith!

This ceremony will honor Skip Dye and Owen Wolfe, the recipients of the Freedom to Read Foundation Roll of Honor, and IFRT's intellectual Freedom Awards: Nate Coulter, recipient of the John Phillip Immroth Memorial Award; Shannon M. Oltmann, recipient of the Eli M. Oboler Memorial Award; and the Illinois Library Association, recipient of the Gerald Hodges Intellectual Freedom Chapter Relations Award. We will also honor the recipient of the University of Illinois School of Information Sciences Robert B. Downs Intellectual Freedom Award, Shannon M. Oltmann.

The ceremony will feature a keynote address from award-winning and best-selling illustrator Nikkolas Smith (The 1619 Project: Born on the Water, I Am Ruby Bridges, Black Panther Wakanda Forever: The Courage To Dream, Captain America: A Hero Looks Like You, the award winning That Flag, and the upcoming A Change is Gonna Come.)

Registered ALA Annual Conference attendees are welcome to attend the program, which begins at 7:30 p.m. in Salon E at the Philadelphia Marriott. Donations supporting the Merritt Fund will be collected during the reception, which will have light appetizers and a cash bar.

The event is organized by IFRT, FTRF, and University of Illinois School of Information Sciences. Premiere sponsors for the event include OverDrive and Penguin Random House. Additional sponsorship is provided by Macmillan. Support also provided by Sage Publishing.

About Nikkolas Smith
Nikkolas Smith is an Artivist, #1 NYT bestselling picture book creator and Hollywood film concept artist (Judas and the Black Messiah, Space Jam II, Black Panther Wakanda Forever, They Cloned Tyrone, Sinners). He is the author/illustrator of several picture books:  The History of We, the USA TODAY Bestselling  The Artivist, the NAACP Image Award nominated The Golden Girls of Rio, and My Hair Is Poofy And That's Okay. Nikkolas is the illustrator of the #1 NYT Bestseller The 1619 Project: Born on the Water, I Am Ruby Bridges, Black Panther Wakanda Forever: The Courage To Dream, Captain America: A Hero Looks Like You and the award winning That Flag and the upcoming "A Change is Gonna Come".  During his eleven year career designing theme parks at Walt Disney Imagineering, he began his weekly Sunday Sketch series of digital paintings which led to some of his most famous sketches to go viral and globally published and become a picture book creator. As a Black illustrator, Nikkolas is focused on creating captivating art that can spark important conversations in today's world and inspire meaningful change towards social justice and equity. Known for his artistic depictions of marginalized voices, Nikkolas speaks and leads workshops on artivism at conferences and schools around the world. His passion for social justice into his unique portfolio of art has made him one of the most recognized talents of our time. Nikkolas was born in Houston, Texas, and now lives in Los Angeles, California with his family.