law. at that time, that is when we decided to really get into gear and look toward moving for a ballot initiative in 2024. we did that thing where we hired some consultants to talk to all of the stakeholders in arizona to talk about what they would like to see and how they could help. we organized our language and started our campaign in chief in september 2023. in the background, there was a battle in the supreme court over this 1864 law. on the cusp of us getting 500,000 signatures from arizona and across the state, our supreme court decided to uphold this 1864 total ban on abortion. that motivated a lot of arizonans, who were on the sidelines to jump into the game at that point in time. we were able to turn in a history making, more than 820,000 signatures, 7000 volunteers, from all 15 counties in the state.

now, we are running our campaign, our yes campaign, talking to arizona voters about what is at stake and why they need to pass the arizona abortion access act, which would enshrine the fundamental rights to abortion in our constitution. >> that is prop 139, and it is yes, in some states you've got to keep track of what is yes and what is no. you are one of 10 states with similar laws with similar references. every other state that has done it is somehow enshrined, and have been enshrining abortion rights. is it driving voters to the selection? are there people otherwise might not have been building voting, coming out because they want to preserve their rights? >> absolutely. i think we are seeing a lot of enthusiasm from young folks who are just thinking about starting their families and want to have the options they can. up to folks who are marching for roe in the 60s and 70s really coming out to support us. our initiative is popular across the spectrum, across any kind of do great demographic. we expect folks to turn out and vote yes on prop 139.

>> one of the things to remember, when you have these abortion bans, as we were saying, this is dangerous for anyone, anybody that can get pregnant. we are testing effects on people that wanted to have children and could not get the postnatal, prenatal care they wanted, they are having miscarriages, worried about prosecution. this is broader than rather you want the right to have an abortion, this is the right to have healthcare as a woman. >> absolutely. that is how we are framing our issue. pregnant patients should have the fundamental right to have personal and private decisions about their healthcare, especially abortion with their medical providers, and their families, if they so choose, and without government. i think that is something that speaks across the political spectrum. >> a lot of people saying, they have been in favor of this in the state for a long time, this would be a continuation. thank you, chris love, spokesperson for abortion access and senior advisor for planned parenthood of arizona. still to come, today's

meeting of the velshi banned book ban coming up. i will be speaking with one of the most influential and beloved authors of the past 20 years, judy blume. the true test of her work is the work she inspires. we will also be joined by a velshi banned book ban alarm , jason reynolds. we will open the cover of blume 's seminal forever. and the answer, a new book called "24 seconds from now."

just moments ago, governor

tim walz arrived in chicago ahead of a campaign event this afternoon. in a hurry to get on that plane, wish i could do that. meanwhile, vice president kamala harris is in chicago alongside lizzo before heading out. and tomorrow, she will have an exclusive interview with my colleague, al sharpton rent right here on msnbc. coming up on "velshi" across america in arizona, i will talk with jeff flake about his decision to endorse the democrat in the presidential race. mark kelly fresh off the campaign trail with former president barack obama with kamala harris last night in tucson. plus, more from my important conversation with a diverse group of arizona voters. here is rachel's message to americans ahead of the election. >> my messages to and use your principles, be a principal voter . go out there and don't vote out of fear. vote out of hope."

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a few weeks ago, we held our 100th meeting of the velshi banned book ban, but in those first 100 meetings, we came to know why certain books could have such a profound impact. sometimes it is a masterful writing style, the plot, other times it is the authors themselves. today, it is the resounding of all three. today, we are featuring the iconic and beloved judy blume. judy blume's body of work, including the groundbreaking, "are you there, god, it's me, margaret?" during a time when there was no section in the bookstore for teenagers to parse through and few pages

specifically designed for young people to get lost through. blume's ability to have young characters and a fine literature, is similarly one of the greatest authors of our time. her frank and candid ability to synthesize what it feels like to be a young person has cemented her as a revolutionary. there is a refrain, in all of judy blume's works, do not be ashamed. curiosity about your body, changes to your body, bodying with god, heartbreak, sadness that will not stop, death, and your parents and loving them again, wanting sex, and deciding you're not ready, and the importance of friendship, all of those rings are not just normal to me they are a part of a life well lived. today, we are examining judy blume's seminal and most frequently banned book, forever. said in new jersey 1975, it follows high school senior catherine danziger and her first love, michael, a respective skier from a town next door.

they meet at a new year's party over pots of cheese fondue. soon, they are inseparable, talking on the phone, going on dates, eventually exploring sex and the considerations one must make around that, including birth control. they call their relationship, "forever." "forever" is tender, raw, real, it masterfully has the fear surrounding first love and weight almost always ends. quote, i wanted to tell him that i would never be sorry for loving him. that in a way i still do, maybe i always will. i'll never regret one single thing we did together, because what we had was very special. maybe if we were 10 years older, it would have worked out differently. maybe. i think it is just that i'm not ready for forever. with "forever" and the rest of her body of work, judy blume change the literary landscape and american culture, but nothing proves the transformative and lasting influences of literature more than the work that comes after

it. this is a case in point, "twenty-four seconds from now" by jason reynolds , released just one week ago, is being heralded as "forever" for young, black man in america. "twenty-four seconds from now" is a tender look at first love and sex through the eyes of 17- year-old neon, with reynolds's trademark direct language, lyrical descriptions, and enduring and complex characters, "twenty-four seconds from now" will resonate with anyone who has ever felt love and anyone who has ever loved judy blume. members of the velshi banned book ban will remember jason reynolds from the awarding young adult novel he co- authored, "young boys." he has got an uncanny ability to write books that are needed, books on moderate america that our readers that may need them the most. after a quick break, i am joined by both jason reynolds and judy blume. do not miss this meeting of the velshi banned book ban.

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today's meeting of the velshi banned book club is officially underway. i am joined by two literary giants, thrilled to be joined once again by jason reynolds, author of numerous award- winning books, including the brand-new "twenty-four seconds from now" and the iconic and john read a finding judy blume. judy needs no introduction, she's the author of 26 novels, including the groundbreaking

groundbreaking classic, "forever." judy, welcome to you, and jason, welcome back to you. >> thank you. i just want to say, really quick lee, to you, ali, thank you so much for what you have done to keep kids reading, and to let them choose their own books. we really appreciate that. >> well, we can keep championing it, but people like you need to keep writing books. that is why we appreciate you so much. jason, your book, "twenty-four seconds from now" is being heralded as the answer to "forever " for young, black men. talk to me about books that explore man's interior young lives and what brought you to write this? >> i think for me, i am always interested in the materialize of voice, specifically black boys, all boys, but and i think kids in general. it seems to be a bit of a drought when it comes to really get in into the complex layers of what it really means to be a boy, really assessing and

minding what it means to deal with the insecurities that we have, or the feelings of inaccuracy, or our anxieties, and all the things that people assume that boys don't have, because apparently, at this age, we are supposed to be feral animals, when really, we are whole people with whole world inside of us. >> i love it. judy, beasley, your nose ranger to book any more controversy. >> or to jason. [ laughter ] i am a big fan of jason's. >> i want to play for our viewers, an interview you did in 1984 with don swain, who hosted a radio show called "book beat." let's listen together. >> who has banned your books? >> who has banned my books? [ laughter ] parental groups who are afraid to deal with the issues, with the feelings that i write about. they think somehow that if there thing kids don't read

about these things, their kids won't think about these things. sexuality, death, money. again, real life, the issues of daily living. somehow, they don't want their children to question. they don't want their children to think, and then, they will not have to deal with your kids. >> where is this taking place? >> all over the country. >> judy, that was over four years ago. i think 40 years prior to that, someone would have given an interview, talking about the same type of things. is it different today? what is your sense of censorship efforts today? >> it is worse. it is worse because it is coming from the government. you know, it was terrible in the 80s, and that is what i was talking about, but it is the laws, it is the legislator. i have a bookshop in key west, florida, we pretend we are not

in florida, but we are. the teachers and librarians who come into the bookstore and talk to us, often with-- tearfully. they tell us what it is like to have to give up the books, give up the classroom libraries, give up the public libraries, no books on the shelves in some cases. it is really scary. it is really dangerous, and it is terrible for the young people, more than anyone else. >> that is absolutely right. the rest of us can get access to books, but when they are not in school, when they are not taught or in the public libraries come you are really robbing people, jason, an entire library of exposure. we have covered so many different adaptations, marvel adaptations on the velshi banned book club . most of them source material. given your relationship, it almost seems like judy sort of passed the baton to you on this one. tell

us about this. >> you know what, i would like to believe so. judy did not know she was doing that. i have been fortunate to have conversations with judy, and i have also been fortunate to read that work, all the things that she named. reading forever sort of struck something in meat, because i realized, there was no forever for me. there was no "forever" from the boys ' perspective, thinking of all the messiness of first love, all of the beauty, and the radical nature, and the tenderness that comes with it. i wanted to figure out, not as a response, i wouldn't even say , as a retaliate, because i am not so arrogant to believe i could do such a thing with the great judy blume, but more of an inspiration. she sparked an inspiration and i realized, this story needed to be told as well. >> that is the right word, inspiration is great. judy, i want to talk about a

specific moment in "forever" that rang particularly true to me. quote, when i got home from school, i found a small package in the mail to me from my grandmother. as i ripped it open, i wondered if it could be a birthday present two weeks early. as soon as i saw that what was inside, i knew it wasn't. first i read the note, dear kathy, i hear that you and michael are officially going together. throughout thought these might come in handy. remember, i do not judge. i pulled out a bunch of pamphlets on birth control and venereal disease. look, i'm glad you sent that stuff, it's very interesting, not personally or anything, but in general. >> i'm glad you think so, do me a favor, though, don't tell your mother and father. why not? sometimes it is hard for parents to accept the facts. let's keep it between the two of us." both peer that is beautiful that catherine has that support. you are writing this for folks who don't have someone to turn to for his advice and for parents having a hard time accepting the facts of life.

>> yeah, i wrote it alone time ago. i don't remember everything. i wrote it because my daughter at 14 asked me for a book, you know the story, i am sure, about two nice kids who do it and nobody has to die. because she was reading a lot of books then that equated sexuality with punishment. it was always the girl who was punished. i do want to say to jason, you know, everyone, everyone deserves, and wants a boyfriend like neon. he is just so great. and let's hope that because of your book, we will get more guys like neon. >> i hope so. [ laughter ] speak >> jason, "twenty-four seconds from now" is your first run increments. it is a universal, coming of age story. tell me more about that and why that was important

to you right about now? >> i would think about how once i was in a juvenile detention center, and there were young people in there that asked, what i thought there most checked out book was. i said, grady grtitty, sort of real stories about their lives, things they could see themselves in, she said, no, the romance novels are what they are checking out, because they are vicariously living through the author's words. they are incarcerated when they would be free and experiencing here first. i thought to myself, that is heartbreaking, but even more heartbreaking that jose boys don't feel comfortable or safe enough to check out this book if they were free. we have not created enough safety and enough honorable spaces for young boys to know that it is totally okay to activate their tenderness, gentleness, compassion, and their desire. and it is more about the talk of consent, there is more conversations to be held about their internal sexual health. that was really the impotence of it all. >> judy, you began writing

later in life. today, it seems that young and gifted are celebrated more than those who find their career footing later in life. tell us about this and your life experience in writing. >> it wasn't later in life. i started writing in my 20s. is that later in life today? i don't know. i had two little kids, but i was in my 20s when i started to write. tell me what you want to know? i lost you there, because it was late.>> what is your sense of writers, would like you, are tackling these issues that they know are going to get controversial, yet, they are so important to us. the whole point of velshi banned book club is , we have got these people on here who are able to tell stories. i think more people read them because people try and ban them.>> when you are writing, you have to get the sensor off your shoulder, or it is just not going to work. get the critic off this shoulder, the sensor off this,

and work from deep inside, and right what you know is your truth, your honesty. >> and what do you make of this movement right now? what is your sense, judy, about where this goes? do you think enough people are agitated about, as you said, the government involvement in banning books that they might actually do something about it? >> i don't know how many people are aware of that. i mean, a lot of people come into the bookstore and they see the banned book table with the tape around it, they say, what? we would ban this book in america? and they will pick up a book like maybe one of jason's. there are so many. anyway, but they don't believe it. they don't know it.

they don't believe it. they don't want to believe it, but there it is. it is true. we do have some great organizations working today to- - you know, there are lawsuits all over the place. we have the national coalition against censorship, we have been america. even the authors guild was just party to a suit. we have so many librarians. and i hope we have you-- and i hope through all of this, yeah, people will become more aware, and more irate, and get busy standing up and speaking out. >> i am so grateful to both of you. jason, i am glad to have you back in the velshi banned book club, and congratulations on the new book . judy, we are so honored to have you in the velshi banned book club. jason reynolds , author of the newest books, including "twenty- four seconds from now" . judy blume, author of so many books, including "forever." there is more velshi banned book club where that came fr