Many iconic American books are currently at risk of being removed from the shelves of schools and local libraries or placed under restricted access. Where the Wild Things Are, The Lorax, The Giver, and The Giving Tree, beloved children’s books, are among the casualties of this alarming trend.
The rate of book banning has surged by 65% since 2022, with a staggering 4,240 books banned in 2024 alone across all 50 states (NPR). Book bannings aren’t new; the United States has a long history of banning books; with the first book ban in 1673, the Puritan Massachusetts government banned the New English Canaan because of its critique of Puritan customs and power structures (Gurman Library, Harvard). Additionally, book bannings were popular during the McCarthy Era, an era of book banning that focused on censoring books that encouraged communism or socialism, banning books such as Huckleberry Finn, The Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Canterbury Tales (National Geographic). The practice of banning books because of their critiques of the government has continued today. However, the reason for book banning has become more varied and far-reaching. Some of the various reasons are sexual content, offensive language, religious viewpoints, “anti-family content,” political viewpoints, and more (First Amendment Museum).
Similar to the McCarthy Era, states have continued implementing book bans and creating harsh guidelines for what can be taken off the shelves or restricted. Some states create book-banning guidelines that are “intentionally vague” in order to control what students are reading in classrooms (ASCD). For example, South Carolina has implemented what has been called “One of the nation’s most restrictive book bans” (The Guardian), taking effect on June 25, 2024, regulation R. 43-170, allows parents with a child enrolled in a K-12 public school to challenge up to 5 books a month that mention a description of sexual conduct these books can then be restricted or taken off the shelves entirely. In Alabama, the state board adopted a new policy allowing funding to be tied to book restrictions and bans, stating that libraries that do not restrict access to books deemed sexually inappropriate by the Alabama Public Library Service Board could lose state funding (Alabama Reflector). Librarians and teachers who are fighting against book bans are also facing consequences. Suzette Baker, a librarian in Llano County, Texas, lost her job after refusing to put Critical Race Theory behind the counter, only checking it out if patrons specifically asked for a copy (PBS News).
While many believe that book banning practices are far-fetched and overreaching, there are logical reasons why parents might want to take on a more active role in their child’s education. Parents should have the right to choose what materials their children can access while they are at school within reason, as a parent knows their child best. It is reasonable for parents not to want their children to be exposed to drug use, sex, violence, or other explicit topics at a young age without their supervision or guidance, and book banning is a way to ensure that their children have no access to such topics. Additionally, while book banning takes books away from children in schools and, in some cases, in libraries, it does not prohibit authors from writing and selling their works, only limiting a small population of people who can access them.
According to Pen America, a non-profit that focuses on raising awareness for the protection of free expression, in 2022 alone, over 54 bills were proposed in 22 states that aimed to ban or restrict books in the classroom or library, and by the end of 2022, 36 states proposed 137 books to be restricted (PEN America). People throughout all states have begun taking action against book-banning practices. NPR and Ipsos polling found that 64% of Americans oppose book bans enacted by state lawmakers and would instead have parents make those decisions. Many civil rights groups, librarians, parents, students, and even publishing companies are actively fighting to stop the book bans, calling the bans a violation of people’s First Amendment right to freedom of information and an overreach of government oversight. Groups such as The Authors Guild and The American Library Association post scripts on getting involved and putting an end to book banning practices and legislation. Activist groups stress the importance of writing or calling your city/town school board and requesting an end to book bans, writing op-eds in local newspapers about the dangers of censorship, and providing scripts to send to state representatives asking for the practice to end (The Authors Guild, American Library Association).
While book banning is generally opposed in the United States, a healthy middle ground can be found for both advocates and opponents. It’s reasonable for parents to have a say in what their children are reading in schools. However, allowing one parent to dictate the access to books for all students is unreasonable. Allowing parents to opt their children out of reading specific books and teachers providing alternate assignments is just one of the ways book bannings can be avoided; parents who deem certain topics to be inappropriate for their children are able to shield them, and parents who might not have the same perspective are happy as well. This model has worked well and is already in practice, parents are able to opt their children out of sex education in thirty-four states and the District of Columbia (The Scranton Times-Tribune). While book banning continues to be on the rise, there is a healthy middle ground that can keep parents and educators happy.
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