Burton, who has earned more than 20 Emmys over his career, is being recognized for his iconic role as host of Reading Rainbow on PBS. The show is celebrated for instilling a love of reading to countless young viewers across decades.

Burton is still dedicated to promoting literacy. The legendary TV personality can now be heard on his podcast, LeVar Burton Reads, where he mostly reads to adults. Speaking to Comic Book in 2019, Burton said he doesn’t want adults to lose their imagination.

“If I had a mission statement for LeVar Burton Reads, it would be to remind the Reading Rainbow generation how important reading is in their lives, and their imaginations,” he said. “As adults now, you guys are adulting. I don’t want you to stop using your imaginations because you’re going to need them going forward. Because there’s a whole lot of s**t we’re leaving for you to clean up. I’m sorry about that. I apologize, but I am trying to encourage some of the skills and talents you’re going to need going forward.”

The Star Trek actor also partnered with the book club app Fable in 2021 to share his personal book recommendations and literary insights.

“Stories have been a central part of my life since I was a child. They have the power to feed our imaginations and explore the very nature of our existence here on earth and beyond,” Burton said. “Stories can even bring us closer together as human beings. For me, books are more than words strung together. They are portals into existences of every variety, stripe and hue; the universe and all there is, captured in the pages of good books!”