Judy Krug died on Saturday, April 11. As a fierce advocate of the 1st Amendment, she began the Freedom to Read Foundation, which supports U.S. libraries in their ongoing struggle with censorship. I didn’t know Judy well at all, but I took part each year in Banned Books Week, another of her brainchildren, where we read from and celebrated books that have been challenged or banned at libraries in the United States. My favorite of the banned or challenged books I learned about through Judy was And Tango Makes Three. Tango relates the true story of two male penguins in New York’s Central Park zoo, who became lovers, hatched an abandoned egg, and raised the chick.
Judy Krug was a hero and a model for me, someone who was not afraid to speak up, not afraid to take abuse in defense of our most fundamental freedom. All of us who cherish the written word are lessened by her death.
The family would like donations made to the Freedom to Read Foundation, at 50 East Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611.