What Is Book Banning, and How Does It Affect Society? (original) (raw)

Freedom of speech is a fundamental right in America—unless, apparently, you write a book that some people disagree with. In that case, you might find your book on a list of other titles that have been banned. But what is book banning, exactly?

It is a form of censorship, meaning it’s the suppression of speech and information. Book banning began in what is now the United States in the 17th century and never went away, although there have been periods when politically motivated moral panics made these challenges against “controversial” books far more frequent. Unfortunately, we’re living in one of those periods right now—an age when even some of the best books are being challenged.

The crusade to suppress already marginalized voices has picked up steam in recent years, with increasing numbers of parents, activists, school boards and other local policymakers seizing the opportunity to enact bans and other restrictions on books in schools and public libraries. Some of the most frequently banned books include critically acclaimed titles like Maus by Art Spiegelman, The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson and Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds.

But what does book banning actually entail? Who decides which books stay or go? And is book banning even legal? Here’s what you need to know about this form of censorship of books in the U.S. and the cultural impact of banned books.

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What is book banning?

Book banning is the act of removing materials from a school or library’s collection as a result of objections from groups or individuals who say they need to protect others—typically children—from the difficult information or ideas contained in the books, according to the American Library Association (ALA). But there’s more nuance to it than that, says Emily Knox, PhD, an associate professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s School of Information Science and the author of Book Banning in 21st-Century America.

The history of banned books

Though book banning as we know it today primarily focuses on attempts to keep certain works of fiction out of the hands of impressionable children and young adults, the first recorded instances of this censorship practice in Colonial America centered on objections to religious and political texts deemed too dangerous for the general public. Early examples include New English Canaan by Thomas Morton (1637), The Meritorious Price of Our Redemption by William Pynchon (1650) and The Christian Commonwealth by John Eliot (1659).

This form of censorship continued throughout the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, perhaps most famously as a reaction to the publication of Uncle Tom’ s Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s 1852 novel about the cruelties of slavery and the first American work of fiction to become an international bestseller. Widely banned in the American South for being “abolitionist propaganda” at the time of its release, Stowe’s book continues to be challenged in the United States today for other reasons, like its inclusion of racial slurs.

Roughly two decades after the controversy surrounding Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Congress passed the Comstock Act of 1873, which made it illegal for anyone to possess, sell, give away, exhibit or send obscene books, pamphlets, pictures, drawings or advertisements through the mail, along with anything else considered lewd, lascivious, immoral or indecent. Between 1874 and 1915, an estimated 3,500 people were prosecuted under this law, although about only 350 were convicted.

Book banning today

While policies like the Comstock Act sound outdated, censorship of books in the United States never went away. And if the current surge in attempts to ban books is any indication, it’s not going anywhere anytime soon.

Censorship of books in the U.S.

This most recent—and ongoing—wave of book banning began at the end of 2021, at a rate outpacing previous decades, according to a statement from the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF). Between June 1 and Nov. 29, 2021, OIF tracked 155 unique censorship incidents—numbers that OIF Director Deborah Caldwell-Stone called “unprecedented.”

It’s only gotten more prevalent from there. According to a report from PEN America, there were 3,362 instances of book banning in the 2022–2023 school year. That’s a nearly 33% increase from the 2021–2022 school year.

These bans aren’t spread equally across the United States, though. During the 2022—2023 school year, more than 40% of all book bans occurred in Florida school districts, followed by 625 bans in Texas, 333 bans in Missouri, 281 bans in Utah and 186 bans in Pennsylvania, per PEN America.

Despite the surge in bans, public opinion is divided: Two-thirds of Americans oppose efforts to restrict books in public schools, according to an August 2024 report from the Knight Foundation. The report also found that sentiment is lopsided, with strong opponents of book restrictions outnumbering strong supporters nearly 3 to 1.

As for publishers and authors, you’ll find most of them in the anti-book-banning camp. In fact, on Aug. 29, 2024, six major publishers teamed up with the Author’s Guild and big-name writers—including Angie Thomas, John Green, Laurie Halse Anderson and Jodi Picoult—to file a lawsuit challenging a recent Florida law. They claim that the law, which has resulted in the removal of hundreds of books from libraries, violates First Amendment rights.

A surge in book censorship

Not only have instances of book banning increased, but censorship laws are also on the rise in the United States. You only have to look at news from the summer of ’24 to understand the significance.

Utah

On July 1, a new law went into effect in Utah requiring school districts to inform the state’s board of education of the books that have been banned from their school libraries that also fit the criteria in the new law. Books can be prohibited statewide when at least three of Utah’s 41 school districts “claim they contain pornographic or indecent material,” the Associated Press reports. After roughly a month, 13 books have been banned from all public schools in the state.

In a twist with a dystopian edge, the Associated Press reports that the school libraries are required under the new law to throw the books in the trash. Selling or otherwise distributing them is against the law.

Tennessee

A new law also went into effect on July 1 in Tennessee. Technically, it’s an expansion of the Age Appropriate Materials Act, enacted in 2022. While the original law didn’t define what is considered “suitable for the age and maturity levels” of students, the amended version specifies that “nudity, or descriptions or depictions of sexual excitement, sexual conduct, [and] excess violence” are not age-appropriate content for students between kindergarten and 12th grade.

Opponents of the law fear that, as written, it could be used to ban classics like To Kill a Mockingbird and Lord of the Flies, while one opposing lawmaker questioned whether it should also apply to the Bible. Under the new law, one person’s complaint to a school board could result in banning the book in school libraries statewide if a so-called “textbook commission” determines that the book is unsuitable for the age and maturity level of students.

Idaho

Idaho also saw a new law go into effect on July 1. It requires libraries to relocate any “obscene materials”—as defined by a statute from the 1970s—to an adults-only section.

South Carolina

A new law in South Carolina went into effect on Aug. 1. This mandates the removal of books with sexual conduct from the state’s public schools.

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What is the process of getting a book banned?

The term book banning isn’t the most accurate way to describe what happens when parents, community members, organizations or school board members decide that certain groups shouldn’t be permitted to access a book.

“What people do is bring a challenge against a book,” Knox explains. “Generally, this is done by filling out a ‘request for reconsideration’ form with their public institution—usually a public library or public school. And that starts the process of having the book reconsidered. Books are really only banned if they are removed.”

For this reason, instead of using “book banning” as an imprecise catchall term, Knox prefers to speak about “people engaging in censorship practices,” via what she refers to as the four Rs:

Who is banning books?

As far as who has the authority to ban books, it depends on the institution where a book is located.

“If you’re thinking about a school, it is generally the school board who will give the final approval on whether or not it will be included in the school curriculum, the school library or on a suggested reading list,” says Knox. “Those are all very different, so most school districts have a committee that will give a recommendation to the board, and then the board will decide. Generally, public libraries work the same way.”

Why do people ban books?

hand holding book in circleRD.com, Getty Images

Perhaps “what is book banning?” isn’t the most (or only) important question. What we really need to understand is why it happens.

So why are books banned? Generally speaking, books are challenged and banned under the guise of “protecting children” from sexually explicit material, says Amanda Jones, a school librarian and the author of That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America. In many cases, concerns about a book stem from what some people perceive to be explicit material, offensive language or so-called age-inappropriateness, says attorney Brent C.J. Britton.

He offers an example of a classic book that’s been taught in schools for decades: “Often, a well-meaning parent happens to glance at their student’s copy of Catcher in the Rye, sees the F-word and initiates a Chicken-Little-sky-is-falling campaign to rid the school of smut, which then metastasizes into a full-blown witch hunt,” he explains. “So they bring it to the school board, and the board caves under community pressure.”

But what causes people to read a book and believe it’s so inappropriate that they put time and effort into keeping other people—especially younger members of their community—from reading it? “Some individuals want to eradicate books from points of view they do not like,” Jones explains. “Others, like politicians, use books and libraries as political pawns. They will believe and share false information about books and libraries to pander for votes.”

But as far as specific subject matter, it largely comes down to two factors: whose story it is and how it is being told.

What books are being banned?

While you’ll find classic books on the list, most of the challenged books focus on LGBTQ issues, discuss racism in America or document the Black experience or the experiences of other BIPOC individuals.

“It’s not a coincidence that books about marginalized people are being challenged right now,” Knox says. “Our country is becoming a majority-minority country. We are rapidly changing as a society. These are books that center people that have not been centered previously. They describe life circumstances that are quite different from what you might expect.”

Not only do these books feature stories that have long been overlooked or willfully ignored by mainstream publishers and wider popular culture (think: LGBTQ+ books and those by authors of color), but they are also written in a way that paints a vivid picture of situations and circumstances that may be unfamiliar to white, middle-class, heterosexual audiences. These frank descriptions of what life is like for other people may cause readers to see groups of people—and themselves—in a new light.

“They expose parts of our society [and] our history that are difficult to discuss,” Knox explains. “This is called ‘difficult knowledge.'” Some parents also worry that this difficult knowledge will lead to their children having different values than their own, she adds, especially when it comes to lifestyles or political ideas they believe are wrong or immoral.

Is book banning illegal?

This question is much harder to answer than one might think. Because so much is determined at the local level on a case-by-case basis, it’s impossible to classify book banning as either legal or illegal. In fact, multiple legal experts who Reader’s Digest reached out to were either unwilling or unable to answer this question.

Here’s what we do know: Removing materials from public libraries solely based on their content could be considered censorship and a violation of the First Amendment. Public school libraries are not permitted to remove materials because of political content, but according to a 1982 Supreme Court decision, schools are allowed to remove materials that are “pervasively vulgar.”

That said, even in situations when book banning can be considered illegal, that doesn’t stop concerned parents and educators from challenging books … or lawmakers from enacting policies to ban them.

So when is book banning in schools considered legal? When the federal government deems a book or other materials to be legally obscene—which “mostly means that it is utterly devoid of any literary, artistic, political or scientific value and is patently sexual,” says Britton. This is largely because of the protections provided by the First Amendment, which have been bolstered by decades of court rulings on all levels.

“The U.S. Supreme Court has held repeatedly that students do not shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate and that the First Amendment limits the power of public junior high and high school officials to remove books from school libraries because of their content,” Britton explains.

Is banning books against the First Amendment?

There has been significant pushback from individuals, publications and groups like the ALA and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), all with the view that book banning is a violation of our First Amendment rights. These groups argue that whether they’re classic books or more modern works, banned books are actually some of the most educational books for people to read because they offer new perspectives and insights from people with life experiences different from our own.

It is a violation of the First Amendment for the government to “ban books merely because it dislikes the ideas contained in those books, nor may it do so for partisan, political or viewpoint-based reasons,” says Vera Eidelman, a staff attorney with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy and Technology project, adding that “the First Amendment protects the right to receive and explore ideas on the federal, state and local levels.”

Libraries—whether public or affiliated with a school—are places where people can exercise their First Amendment rights by exploring a wide range of viewpoints, book genres and experiences, Eidelman explains. And our First Amendment protections apply whether the government bans books entirely or limits access to them in other ways, such as by putting them in a separate section of the library or behind the librarian’s desk.

“When the government tries to use its power to indicate that certain ideas are unacceptable or not worthy of discussion or consideration, that message is not lost on students or library patrons,” she notes.

According to Eidelman, nine states, including New Hampshire and Texas, enacted classroom censorship bills in 2021 alone. And state officials and local school boards across the country have continued to wage campaigns to remove from schools books by and about communities of color, LGBTQ+ individuals and other marginalized groups. But she says that the ACLU is actively pursuing litigation to block these laws and policies. As of February 2024, this includes supporting H.R. 6592, the Fight Book Bans Act, which would fight classroom censorship by allowing the Department of Education to provide grants to school districts to cover the costs of fighting book bans.

What are the most commonly banned books in America?

The most commonly banned books in America include children’s books, teen books and titles written for adults that address topics like race, mental health, LGBTQ+ issues and politics and/or include offensive language, gun violence or sexist content.

According to the latest data from PEN America, the top 10 most banned books in the country right now are:

  1. Tricks by Ellen Hopkins
  2. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
  3. Looking for Alaska by John Green
  4. A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
  5. Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe
  6. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
  7. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
  8. Sold by Patricia McCormick
  9. Crank by Ellen Hopkins
  10. Identical by Ellen Hopkins

What classic books are being banned?

The classics you read in high school aren’t exempt from challenges either. Celebrated authors like Maya Angelou, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Alice Walker and Judy Blume have all faced bans. Regarded by many as some of the best books ever written, these titles are among the classics that have come under fire in recent years:

What happens when we ban books?

hands reaching for books in a circleRD.com, Getty Images

Banning books has both short- and long-term effects. And the impact is widespread: Students, parents, teachers, librarians, authors and the entire community are impacted when a book is removed from shelves.

How book bans are affecting students

As soon as a challenged book is banned, it will promptly be removed from places like school libraries, bookstore shelves, reading lists and curricula—making it more difficult for a specific audience (usually students) to access. The message behind a specific book’s banning can also have a lasting impact on students.

“When the government bans a book, it sends a clear message that certain ideas are not acceptable in society,” Eidelman explains. “That is precisely what the First Amendment forbids. And yet the message many school boards are choosing to send today is that they won’t accept stories that they don’t like—including those by and about Black, queer and immigrant communities.”

Some students may carry that unfortunate lesson with them moving forward.

How book bans are affecting schools and libraries

As the issue of book banning has heated up and become increasingly political, schools are now seeing the effects.

In an October 2023 working paper, Kirsten Slungaard Mumma, an assistant professor of economics and education at Teachers College of Columbia University, investigated the link between local politics and the books a school’s library offers. After reviewing 6,631 public school library collections, she discovered that while most libraries had some controversial content, those in conservative areas have fewer books about LGBTQ+ topics, race and racism, and abortion.

Changes to a school’s library catalog that are prompted by book challenges and bans can have very real consequences. “Over the longer term, book challenges could have ‘chilling effects’ on library collections, pushing librarians to avoid books with content that could provoke parents or political groups,” Slungaard Mumma writes in the paper.

And the issue isn’t limited to school libraries alone.

What began as a push to get “objectionable” books out of schools and out of the hands of impressionable children has now widened in scope to the entire community. In essence, those who support book banning don’t want anyone to be able to read the book.

Anti-library legislation and attacks on libraries have led to librarians “soft-censoring” themselves, according to Jones—meaning that they might not purchase books they normally would out of fear of being targeted. “Or because some legislation is so vague, they overcorrect and take further steps than needed because they don’t want to be fired or jailed,” she says. “This affects entire school and public library collections and will have devastating effects for decades to come.”

While some may argue that book banning isn’t as big of a deal because “everything” is available on the internet nowadays, Jones disagrees. “While people can find pretty much anything on the internet, it doesn’t mean they have access to it,” she says. “Books, newspaper and magazine subscriptions, audiobooks, etc. are costly, so people rely on the public library for access. Some people are quick to say it isn’t a ban if you can still buy it, but the whole point is that many people can’t.”

To Jones, book banning is just as big of a problem now as it would have been before the internet. “The intent is still the same: to erase and ‘other’ people’s stories,” she explains.

That’s why we’re seeing more and more librarians like Jones fight back against bans, both in their libraries and in America.

How book bans are affecting society as a whole

Book banning can also have much wider implications, beyond students and schools. “A society in which book banning is acceptable is no longer a free society,” Eidelman says. “It is instead one in which the government tells the people what books to read—and therefore what ideas to encounter and, ultimately, what to think. It weakens education and prevents people from learning to think for themselves.”

Additionally, trying to censor and ban books—particularly by and about historically marginalized communities—sends the message that they don’t matter and don’t belong, Jones explains. “We should trust the trained professionals to make collection decisions based on the policies already in place in all libraries and know that parents and community members are free to ask a library to reconsider,” she says. “However, what we are seeing is bad-faith challenges of books by the hundreds that the challengers haven’t even read.”

While book challenges and bans are still happening—and in some cases, getting worse—Jones says that it’s important to keep in mind that, in reality, “only a handful of people” are behind these bans. Data from the Knight Foundation supports this: The report found that only 1% of Americans have actually taken action to restrict books. “In general, it seems that people are starting to wake up to what is happening, and the pendulum is swinging back to normalcy ever so slightly in many areas,” she says.

But despite her optimism, Jones also stresses the importance of protecting and promoting the written word. “I hope that more legislation geared toward the freedom to read and against book banning happens soon—before our libraries are destroyed,” she adds.

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