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Politics and books: A mixture that leads to censorship in American libraries

Rebecca Barnabi
college student
(© Viktoriia – stock.adobe.com)

Banned Books Week events were held by the American Library Association during the last week of September, but censorship continues year round in the United States.

A Sept. 23, 2022 article in Smithsonian Magazine examined the movement in the last year to ban books, and determined that advocacy groups were leading the charge, especially against books that contain LGBTQIA+ content.

In a Sept. 16, 2022 press release, ALA addressed the situation, and reported that the number of attempts to ban or restrict library resources in schools, universities and libraries were on track to exceed counts from 2021.

The ALA documented 681 attempts to ban or restrict library resources between January 1 and August 31, 2022, according to the press release, and 1,651 unique titles were targeted. The ALA reported 729 attempts to censor library resources in 2021, targeting 1,597 books. The number of attempts in 2021 was the highest since ALA began compiling lists more than 20 years ago.

More than 70 percent of the 681 attempts so far in 2022 have targeted multiple titles. Previously, challenges of materials sought to remove or restrict a single book.

“The unprecedented number of challenges we’re seeing already this year reflects coordinated, national efforts to silence marginalized or historically underrepresented voices and deprive all of us — young people, in particular — of the chance to explore a world beyond the confines of personal experience,” ALA President Lessa Kananiʻopua Pelayo-Lozada said in the press release.

Pelayo-Lozada said that library professionals trust individuals to make their own decisions about which book is appropriate for them. Wanting to protect young people from difficult realities in life is natural, but banning books “does nothing to protect them from dealing with tough issues. Instead, it denies young people resources that can help them deal with the challenges that confront them.”

The moral panic to censor certain voices and views in 2022 is about politics. “Organizations with a political agenda are spreading lists of books they don’t like.”

“ALA and our partners in the Unite Against Book Bans campaign are asking readers everywhere to stand with us in the fight against censorship,” Pelayo-Lozada said.

According to the ALA Office, challenged books are an attempt to remove or restrict materials based on objections by a person or group. Banned books are actually removed from circulation. The ALA Office said librarians, teachers, parents, students and other concerned citizens are committed to ensure most challenges are unsuccessful and most materials remain in circulation.

The American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom has tracked challenged and banned books since 1990.

In 2021, the office tracked 729 challenges to library, school and university materials. The ALA Office determined the following top 10 challenged titles among 1,597 books targeted for censorship, and the reasons for their censorship.

  1. “Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe was banned, challenged and restricted for its LGBTQIA+ content and for sexually explicit images.
  2. “Lawn Boy” by Jonathan Evison was banned and challenged also for LBTQIA+ content, and considered sexually explicit.
  3. “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson was banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content, profanity and considered sexually explicit.
  4. “Out of Darkness” by Ashley Hope Perez was banned, challenged and restricted for depictions of abuse and for sexually explicit content.
  5. “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas was banned and challenged for profanity, violence and because it was thought to promote an anti-police message and indoctrination of a social agenda.
  6. “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie was banned and challenged for profanity, sexual references and use of a derogatory term.
  7. “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” by Jesse Andrews was banned and challenged for sexually explicit content and it is considered degrading to women.
  8. “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison was banned and challenged for depicting child abuse and for sexually explicit content.
  9. “This Book is Gay” by Juno Dawson was banned, challenged, relocated and restricted for LGBTQIA+ content and providing sexual education.
  10. “Beyond Magenta” by Susan Kuklin was banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content and sexually explicit content.

 

Rebecca Barnabi

Rebecca Barnabi

Rebecca J. Barnabi is the national editor of Augusta Free Press. A graduate of the University of Mary Washington, she began her journalism career at The Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star. In 2013, she was awarded first place for feature writing in the Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia Awards Program, and was honored by the Virginia School Boards Association’s 2019 Media Honor Roll Program for her coverage of Waynesboro Schools. Her background in newspapers includes writing about features, local government, education and the arts.