Knowledge is power, which is why people have limited its availability for centuries. One such way is through book bans, which are shamefully a part of the history of the United States and the present.
With the internet at our fingertips and technology advancing every day, people seem threatened by words written on a page.
Let’s discuss what’s been going on with the book ban and how it can do more harm than good.
What is currently going on with book banning in the United States?
According to PEN America, a book ban is “any action taken against a book based on its content … that leads to a previously accessible book being either completely removed from availability to students, or where access to a book is restricted or diminished.”
You’ve probably heard that book banning is happening in several states across America. Many books are being challenged because they claim to have content that:
- includes racial issues.
- encourages “damaging” lifestyles, which includes references to drug or alcohol use.
- includes LGBTQAI identities.
- has blasphemous dialogue, which uses “God” or ” Jesus” as slang.
- has the presence of witchcraft or highlighting religion.
- is age inappropriate.
- displays political bias.
Some of the most challenged books of 2023 include
- Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe.
- The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison.
- Sold by Patricia McCormick.
- All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson.
According to PEN America, it’s a growing issue. Over four thousand books were recorded as banned for the latter part of 2023. July through December 2023 were among the highest book-banning months, exceeding the number of books banned between 2022 and 2023.
With these high numbers, you may imagine an angry mob of dozens of people gathered outside libraries with picket signs demanding certain books be banned. Yet shockingly, there aren’t many people doing the banning.
According to a study by the Washington Post, only 11 people are responsible for fulfilling 60 percent of the book challenges. In a school in Wisconsin, one parent was responsible for temporarily banning 444 books.
What is even more shocking than the number of books being banned is what is happening as a result. Teachers and school librarians have been harassed over the issue and feel more pressure to add certain books and materials to their classrooms.
How does the book ban impact or marginalize communities?
Everyone suffers when books are banned. Yet specific communities feel the weight of these restrictions more than others. Carrie Bloxson, Senior Vice President of Culture and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Hachette Book Group, emailed BGN to share her perspective.
According to her book, bans “ultimately create more disparities for students, particularly students of color and socioeconomically disadvantaged students, because these bans will prevent students who have already been allocated limited resources to have even less access to books, particularly those that share their stories.”
Jennie Samons, the Lexington Public Library Teen Librarian at the Northside Branch, also told the New Edu, “Banning books silences the voices of marginalized communities. Youth who are not exposed to lived experiences similar to their own can feel isolated, detached, and lonely, so exposure to these books and materials is essential to their mental health and well-being.”
Books help children and adults from various cultural backgrounds feel seen, heard, and valued. Additionally, they help children and adults understand cultures and groups they aren’t a part of.
As Bloxson shared with BGN, “When diverse perspectives are censored, everyone loses. We are all deprived of the chance to understand different experiences, challenge our own biases, and engage with the full breadth of human stories.”
Blocking the stories of any community, especially stories around ethnicity, sexuality, gender, and disabilities, can make things such as inclusion, ignorance, and generalization more common.
Book bans impede our democracy and freedom of choice. They tell children, adults, and professionals that they no longer have the right to choose which books they want to read and that educators no longer have the freedom to educate their students on various topics.
Student’s imagination and curiosity are limited when you take books off the shelves. If children are required to go to school, they have the right to learn, imagine, and discover as much as possible. Books foster an independence and a desire for learning.
As a book lover, I can’t imagine my childhood without spending an afternoon lying on the grass and reading a book. Stories were my happy place. When I worked in the classroom, my favorite moments were adding new books to the shelves and watching how children innately gravitate toward the stories. I can’t tell you how many times I re-read the same books over and over again because children love stories. Taking away that magic from children is unfair.
What can you do to help stop the book ban?
If you’re like me and feel a giant knot in your stomach thinking about the book bans, you can fight back in some ways.
Bloxson has been combating the book ban at Hachette Book Group by financially supporting, and partnering with organizations defending marginalized authors and free speech.
She suggests that parents, teachers, and fellow book lovers do their part. If you’re a parent, reading diverse books with your children at home and introducing them to a wide range of voices and perspectives is a great place to start.
If you don’t have children, or even if you do, you can write letters to your representatives, letting them know how important it is that children have access to diverse books. Familiarize yourself with those who sit on your local library and school boards and attend board meetings to express your support for keeping a wide range of books available. Disgruntled parents are showing up to meetings demanding books be banned. Imagine the power of parents showing up demanding books be protected.
Voting nationally but, more importantly, locally makes the most lasting impact. Lastly, support organizations that are actively fighting book bans, such as Unite Against Book Bans and ALA.
If books continue to be banned, we will lose some of the most rich and beautiful stories that make the human experience worthwhile.
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