Reading advocate and icon Levar Burton will serve as the first actor to lead Banned Books Week as the honorary chair. Banned Books Week is an annual event that lasts a week and serves to bring awareness to book bans, while highlighting the necessity of the freedom to read and having access to information. It will take place October 1-7 this year.

While Burton has played groundbreaking roles in shows like Roots and Star Trek, he’s also played a huge part in supporting literacy. His PBS children’s show Reading Rainbow lives in the hearts of many Americans who grew up from 1983 and on, he currently has a podcast dedicated to literature titled Levar Burton Reads, and he executively produced The Right to Read, an award-winning documentary from this year that shows how literacy is a civil rights concern.

To Burton, the importance of books and reading can not be overstated,“Books bring us together. They teach us about the world and each other. The ability to read and access books is a fundamental right and a necessity for life-long success,” he’s said.