Author and LGBT activist George M. Johnson returned to the Tamron Hall Show Thursday for a candid conversation surrounding the growing book bans in U.S. schools.

Johnson talked to the Hall about his controversial memoir, All Boys Aren’t Blue, which has been banned in at least 14 states. Hall says, “George gets real about the power of sharing your truth and pledges to never stop.”

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Johnson writes over at HuffPo, that before its release he knew the book would be banned.

A report from PEN America this week showed that my book, having survived various criminal complaints, was the second-most banned in the United States, with bans in 29 school districts. States’ continued efforts to ban my work is not easy to wake up to daily. For the past year, there have been constant Google alerts, messages on social media from people calling me a “pedophile or groomer,” and other unsavory attempts to deny my story and the very existence of Black queer people everywhere. I never thought I would be at the center of a political issue moving into an election — nor should I ever have been.

My book, All Boys Aren’t Blue, is a young adult memoir about my experience growing up Black and queer in America. In my story, I discuss growing up in a Black family who loved and affirmed me; the good, bad and ugly truths about what teens really deal with; and my journey through gender and social identity. My life was and still is full of joy, but also include some painful moments involving nonconsensual sex, as well as my experience with losing my virginity. Unfortunately, my sexual experiences have been deemed “an issue” — pornographic by some. To be clear, this book is for ages 14-18 and it contains truths that many of us have experienced and are healing from. People’s backlash, in all forms, is being used to disguise the real issue.

Our books (the banned ones, if you will) often tell stories that are uncomfortable and important. Book banning is nothing new in the U.S., but it has rarely been seen at this magnitude in recent decades. But we can’t just talk about book banning without discussing the suppression of storytelling. Textbooks, historically, contain many inaccuracies. Books written by enslaved people, that described their reality, had to be written under pseudonyms to protect the authors. Some of the greatest literary icons of our time — Toni Morrison, James Baldwin and even Harper Lee — have had their books banned despite their works being part of the landscape and foundation for many generations of writers. Their words simply didn’t fit into the neat narrative that white America is somehow still trying to preserve.

But that is why writing and other types of storytelling are such revolutionary rights. Books persist even when oppressors don’t want them to. They change lives, provide community, and serve as a lifeline for those who feel unseen, unheard and alone.

Every attempt at a ban is a reminder that people do not want me to simply live. I’m fortunate that I have ancestors I can always lean on. During the most painful and trying moments, I can grab my grandmother’s diamond pendant and channel her energy, sing some of her favorite church hymnals aloud and then sit in silence allowing her voice to resonate. “Don’t let these people get to you,” she’d always tell me. “You are doing what you were put here to do.”

Watch Johnson and Hall below.