American Book Bans
The book bans in America’s public libraries and schools are breaching the rights of adults and children’s right to read. This censorship of books is is being fronted by conservative groups in America; targeting books about race/racism, individuals of colors, LGBTQ+, sexual references, and sexual violence.
Book bans are not new to America, but never to this extent. During the 2023-2024 school year alone, PEN America had tracked more than 10,000 book bans in public schools. This data was collected by PEN America from news reports, school board records and legislative tracking. Both adults and children will be affected by these bans, forcing them to buy books instead of borrowing them and missing out on the valuable lessons from books that have been banned, such as Beloved by Toni Morrison, Normal People by Sally Rooney and Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. Hundreds of books are already being removed from libraries and public schools in various states. These states are using taxpayer dollars to defend lawsuits aimed at protecting students’ constitutional right to read freely in an environment that is not only safe but supportive. Not only do these book bans rob children of their education, but have also cost their parents and other adults thousands of their own taxpayer dollars to remove these books from schools and public libraries (reportedly costing between 34,00 and 135,000 a year), especially when taxpayer dollars are needed elsewhere. The right to read is a freedom that all American citizens have, and its removal will not only affect us but also future generations.
The removal of books is being driven by conservative groups, but the root cause for these bans lies in Project 2025, one of their biggest policies is the book ban which will affect public schools and libraries. Right-wing politicians have been using the idea of “anti-America” literature as a central talking point in their campaign, fueling fears that books “indoctrinate” or “control” students into having more progressive values. Even the governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis has been at the forefront of these book bans, targeting books that do not align with his political agenda. Despite both him and Trump stating the book bans are a “hoax” yet there’s clear evidence and his direct involvement with this ban. Project 2025 is a 900-page document that is an outlining blueprint for an authoritarian christian nationalist America, created by the Heritage Foundation, which is headed by right wingers that have pushed America’s most regressive and conservative policies since the Nixon administration back in 1974. These book bans led by Project 2025 will lead to further censorship and not just in literature but also in the media and entertainment. This “project” represents not only an aggressive attack on our freedom to read but an unconscionable one as well.
Despite the big pushes to ban books, there are still people, foundations, and organizations working to stop these actions and educate the public about the policies behind Project 2025. Author Against Book Bans is one of the many organizations trying to fight against the people who would revoke our freedom to read. In the article The Republican’ Project 2025 is Disastrous, written by James Folta, Tokuda-Hall, speaking on the behalf of Authors against Book Bans say “Project 2025 is the single most expansive, extreme attack on our freedom to read that we’ve seen with ambition for federal government implementation. It follows much of the playbook already established by the right wing extremists who seek book bans; it removes the publishers, teachers and librarians who are subject matter experts in child literacy from the equation, not only denigrating them as pedophiles and groomers but also calling for their imprisonment and registry as sex offenders.” Insulating the harsh consequences that will befall Americans, from the children to the workers like libraries, in charge of books. Librarians and other workers within that industry will suffer the most, the potential of jail or firing if banned books are found within their workplace.
PEN America is a major American nonprofits that dedicates itself to protecting free expression in literature and beyond. They warn us that banning and its increasing traction of the movement is dangerously similar to the tactics used by authoritarian regimes seen throughout history (Ex: Nazi Germany, Soviet Union, and The People Republic of China). Jonathan Friedman, in an article Multi-level Barrage of US book bans is unprecedented, says PEN America, by Marina Dunbar says that books bans are often then not early signs of authoritarianism, also brings up the point that many other dictators like the ones mentioned before, have used similar methods of cultural censorship and intellectual suppression to gain power. Despite the on-going attack on our freedoms, there are still individuals wanting and willing to fight back against the unfair removal of books, which in its essence it’s a removal of knowledge.
