Children's author and illustrator Vashti Harrison has been disinvited from a keynote speaking engagement at the African American Research Library & Cultural Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, after concerns emerged over a 2024 social media post in which she voiced support for a Gaza ceasefire. Broward County Public Schools, which sponsored the 17 September event, cancelled it entirely rather than simply replace the speaker, saying it had been unaware of Harrison's past statements when she was selected. The episode highlights how past political or social media activity can retroactively derail public engagements, particularly around the sensitive and polarising topic of the Israel-Gaza conflict.

The controversy was triggered by a blog post from local reporter Kevin Deutsch, who runs the Substack "After October 7" and said he pressed the school district with questions after uncovering Harrison's involvement in what he described as an "anti-Israel campaign". The post in question, from January 2024, showed Harrison had signed the KidLit4Ceasefire letter, one of roughly 7,000 members of the literary and publishing community who urged then-President Joe Biden to call for a ceasefire, citing over 31,000 Palestinian deaths including some 12,000 children. Broward County Public Schools confirmed the event and associated school field trips were cancelled and would be rescheduled with a different speaker, while a library spokesperson confirmed the cancellation to the Miami Herald.