It isn't easy being a 100-year old activist for free expression, but it's not stopping Grace Linn. The unlikely centenarian star of the recently released documentary, "The ABCs of Book Banning," continues trumpeting the message that made her famous: "The freedom to read, which is protected by the First Amendment, is our essential right and duty of our democracy. Even so, it is continually under attack by both the public and private groups who think they hold the truth."

Linn drew national attention in March when she made a stirring speech to the Martin County School Board, protesting the 2022 Florida law that has led to more than 1,000 books being banned, restricted or challenged across the state. Nationwide, conservative politicians and advocacy groups such as Moms for Liberty have championed book bans, mostly targeting titles that address sexuality, racism, gender identity and feminism. At least 37 states have imposed some form of restrictions on at least 2,500 books in schools and public libraries. Early data from the American Library Association 2023 shows a record number of censorship attempts for the year.

"I am Grace Linn," she said in a now-viral video. "I am 100 years young. I'm here to protest our school's district book-banning policy. My husband, Robert Nicoll, was killed in action in World War II at a very young age. He was only 26, defending our democracy, Constitution, and freedoms. One of the freedoms that the Nazis crushed was the freedom to read the books they banned. They stopped the free press and banned and burned books."

Her speech inspired veteran HBO producer Sheila Nevins and comedy writer Jill Twiss to interview Florida students from ages 7 to 17 for their 27-minute documentary. None felt they needed to be protected from objectionable books.

Avalee, a 16-year-old student in the film, said, "Books that I read when I was in kindergarten, and books that I've read now, and any book I've read across my life -- there is vital information in them that is important to who I am today. I am who I am because of the books that I've read."

Yeye, 9, wondered why "Rosa," an account of the civil rights activist's role in the 1956 Montgomery bus boycott by Nikki Giovanni, was singled out.

"If you were the person who helped ban this book, why?" she asked the camera. "Just, why? Do you feel like Rosa Parks is a bad person? Do you feel like people should not know about her legacy? Why do you choose to do this? Why?"

Linn continued her campaign at the New York Public Library on Tuesday, when she appeared on a panel to screen and discuss the film, now streaming on Paramount+, with authors of banned books, including poet Nikki Giovanni ("Rosa"), Peter Parnell (co-author, "And Tango Makes Three") and filmmaker Twiss ("A Day in the Life of Marlin Bundo").

"Every one of you have a job to do - get your words out there, or we have a problem," Linn said, scorning the notion that children need to be protected from objectionable reading material. "They need to know the words that they learn from ALL the books."

Twiss, whose 2018 illustrated "Marlon Bundo" described a fictional gay wedding between the titular rabbit, owned by then-Vice President Mike Pence, and his love, Wesley, took a familiar stance describing her reaction to the wave of book bans.

"What do I think? Horrified, but also, that it just seems so stupid," she said. "I keep going back to how small and how weak your world must be that my 1000-word book that has a hedgehog named Dill Prickle is going to upset it. I keep thinking about how smart these kids are and how stupid (book banning) is."

But Parnell, whose 2005 children's book "Tango," written with Justin Richardson, spent years on top of the most-banned book lists, said the implications of book bans span decades.

The thing that gets us is the kids and the fact that these books won't be available. The movie really brings that home."

For Linn, a century of life experience drives home what's at stake if book bans continue.

"Let's get our children to get what they need," she said, namely, access to books and a teaching environment where they can have their own reactions and beliefs. "It's what we have to do or we are going to lose our democracy."