You’ve seen the headlines: “Book bans are on the rise.” “Schools banned books 2,532 times since 2021.”
But have you thought about the bigger picture? What do book bans do to our relationship with reading? And to our relationships with our neighbors? How do they impact our community?
With thousands of books banned around the country – and more than 100 bills at the state level that would further censor books, according to the American Library Association – experts wonder what will happen to our culture without access to certain titles, particularly ones focused on people of color and the LGBTQ community.
“The idea that all we’re talking about here are schools and libraries is not true,” says Chris Finan, executive director of the National Coalition Against Censorship. “We are talking about culture, and the availability of culture to the wider population.”
What is a book ban?
When a book is “banned,” that means a book has been removed from school curriculums and/or public libraries because a person or group has objected to its content.
An attempt to get a book removed is called a challenge. Most public schools and libraries have boards made up of elected officials (or people appointed by elected officials) who have the power to remove books from the schools and libraries they oversee.
These are happening around the country, making headlines in states like Florida and Texas, for example. From January through August of last year, the American Library Association tracked 1,651 targeted books and 681 attempts at restricting or banning library resources.
These aren’t anything new; historically, when some groups think society has progressed too much, they push back (books like “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “The Color Purple” and “A Separate Peace” have all been subject to bans). Today, critical race theory and books about LGBTQ identities have stoked the partisan flames.
“This campaign has been enormously successful in generating a moral panic around these books,” says Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom.
Some media, of course, may be objectionable for certain age groups. It’s the definition of “objectionable” where conflict arises.
Book bans ‘tear the community apart’
Book bans create a culture of fear in society, says Emily Knox, National Coalition Against Censorship Board President.
Teachers grow unsure of what they can say in a classroom. Writers question whether they should write about a certain topic for fear of becoming a target. “It’s really much more about a chilling effect that happens,” Knox says.
These issues grow more intense on a local level: “They really, really tear the community apart. You find out a lot about your neighbor, whatever it might be, and it can be very difficult to keep a community cohesion once there’s been an entire rift in the community.”
The cultural impact
It’s expected white people won’t make up the majority of people in the U.S. by the 2040s so kids today “must be able to have a shared identity in our country and an understanding of our history,” Knox says.
We’re in the midst of a debate around what the future of America look like, adds Bakari Kitwana, co-editor of “Democracy Unchained: How to Rebuild Government For the People.”
“With that (debate) comes people trying to leverage their power and influence within the realm of public policy, to shape policy in their own image,” he says.
Vamsee Juluri, a professor of media studies and Asian studies at the University of San Francisco, worries if books are banned in schools, students will go without important cultural education. “If a book is banned or suppressed, they’re not even going to realize that something very important is being excluded from them,” he says.
What one group deems “important,” however, another might find immoral. Education and community engagement could help foster better relationships between neighbors to quell quarrels about what’s appropriate.
Either way, the stakes for our culture are real. “Don’t think that this won’t happen in your school,” Knox says.
Read up on book banning
Insights from students themselves:Books are being banned from school libraries. Here’s what that does to students.
What librarians are up to:Preserving the freedom to read: After 40 years of Banned Book Week, librarians craft new plan to fight back
Schools banned books 2,532 times since 2021. It’s all part of a ‘full-fledged’ movement.
Book bans are on the rise.What are the most banned books and why?
Contributing: Barbara VanDenBurgh
