LeVar Burton

Folks were more than a little pissed off when our favorite Reading Rainbow icon was passed over as the host of the trivia game show Jeopardy. But his 2022 comeback has been way sweeter. LeVar Burton will be given his flowers this year, receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award at the first Children’s and Family Emmy Awards. He's also a 2022 Webby Winner in Arts & Culture for his podcast, LeVar Burton Reads, and was announced to be the host of this year’s Scripps National Spelling Bee. We needed outspoken voices like his more than ever in 2022 as the fervor for banning books became even more of an issue. Burton has been vocal about the ridiculousness of banning certain children’s books, and has encouraged people to read the books that schools and other institutions are trying to take away. As he said on a visit to The View earlier this year, "We have this aversion in this country to knowing about our past, and anything unpleasant we don't want to deal with. This is not going away. Nothing goes away, especially if you ignore it. So read the books they're banning. That's where the good stuff is. If they don't want you to read it, there's a reason why."