By Mickey Huff

Forty-two years ago, on the heels of a landmark Supreme Court decision protecting intellectual freedom in Board of Education, Island Trees Union Free School District No. 26 v. Pico, concerned booksellers, librarians, teachers, and avid readers alike united against what they saw as an alarming rise of book challenges and bans in the United States. To raise awareness about these troubling trends and celebrate the right to read, they created Banned Books Week (BBW).

BBW is observed and celebrated during the last week of September (22–28 this year) to draw attention to the growing number of censorship cases in schools, libraries, and bookstores across what many Americans casually refer to as a free country. Although the outcome of the 5–4 decision in the Pico case was technically a win for freedom of expression and the rights of students to be exposed to diverse ideas, like many such cases, it was vague and had loopholes. In many ways, it was not a definitive conclusion; rather, it was a call to arms for would-be censors on one side and librarians and educators on another.

The Crisis of Censorship in the Present

Fast forward to today, where the American Library Association (ALA) “documented 4,240 books targeted for censorship” in 2023—an increase of 65 percent from the previous year. According to the ALA, there were more than 1,200 “demands to censor library books, materials, and resources.” These are record-level attempts to ban books in schools and libraries since 1982.

This is partly the result of astroturfed, conservative organizations like Moms for Liberty, founded in 2021 in Florida (home of the so-called “Don’t Say Gay Law”), and other groups under the auspices of parental rights. They launched nationwide campaigns targeting school and public libraries for censorship, especially in response to what conservatives refer to as a rise in “wokeness” and DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) policies.

These groups did more than select a few books individually, as was historically often the case within local communities. Instead, 89 percent of book-banning efforts in 2023 involved multiple-title challenges, meaning challengers submitted long lists of supposedly objectionable titles. These same groups also targeted school board races to further their anti-intellectual goals. This well-coordinated, national effort went well beyond local activism. Through 2022, Mom’s for Liberty raised $2 million, and across the nation, the candidates they endorsed in school board elections won half the time.

As a result of these and related efforts, according to the ALA report from earlier this year, “The number of titles targeted for censorship at public libraries increased by 92% over the previous year, accounting for about 46% of all book challenges in 2023.” Deborah Caldwell-Stone, the director of the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, noted, “This is a dangerous time for readers and the public servants who provide access to reading materials. Readers, particularly students, are losing access to critical information, and librarians and teachers are under attack for doing their jobs.” So much for living in a free country.

Of course, it is not only these increased and widespread censorious efforts that should raise eyebrows but the pattern of specific topics of the materials facing challenges and bans. According to United Against Book Bans, “47% of the books targeted for censorship were titles representing the voices and lived experiences of LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC individuals.” It should therefore be no surprise that this year’s ALA list of most challenged and banned books has repeat “offenders” on such themes, from Maia Kobabe’s Gender Queer and Juno Dawson’s This Book is Gay to The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky and Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye.

Study after study after study has shown that the curation of a curriculum that excludes certain identities, especially around issues of race, gender, class, and sexuality, harms student development and learning, whereas the inclusion of such culturally responsive pedagogy remarkably improves student growth. As this year’s theme for Banned Books Week suggests, we are “freed between the lines” of text not only when we see our own diversity mirrored back to us but also when we read beyond our own experiences and embrace, as both teachers and life-long learners, those from other backgrounds and different walks of life. Reading is literally an exercise in liberation and censorship has no place in that vital process.

Victories for Free Expression and Academic Freedom

Moms for Liberty’s influence seems to be waning as they shift to broader support for GOP candidates in general. Due to grassroots efforts of groups like STOP Moms for Liberty, their gains have been noticeably cut at the ballot box. However, this is also due to the extraordinary efforts of the broad Banned Books Week Coalition, with its network of diverse, pro-free expression partners. BBW’s past Youth Honorary Chairs, Cameron Samuels and Da’Taeveyon Daniels, have not only led successful campaigns against book bans at their respective high schools, but they have also formed organizations like SEAT (Students Engaged in Advancing Texas) to address broader student concerns. Along with other young activists, they are growing and spurring change in favor of student rights, especially the right to access and study materials that speak to their generation, to their struggles, and that more accurately represent their unique diversity and accompanying perspectives in myriad ways.

Let’s remember that this attack goes beyond its impact on books and our educational institutions—it is ultimately an assault on ideas and real people. Project Censored has been a contributor and member of the Banned Books Week Coalition for more than a decade. Our fight against censorship and support of independent media echoes the mission that inspired BBW. When we lose access to diverse books and ideas, we lose part of ourselves. This year’s theme, freed between the lines, is a timely reminder of what’s at stake.

To break up top-down conformity around discourses about the major issues of the day, we need an independent media landscape not only for diverse news but for all forms of information dissemination. Although the Pico case was a victory for intellectual freedom, it still left room for the many challenges facing schools and libraries today. Banned Books Week is a continuation of Pico’s legacy and serves as an important reminder of what’s at risk of being lost if censorship prevails.

We need independent media and watchdogs, like the ALA, Banned Books Week Coalition, the National Coalition Against Censorship, and Project Censored, to stand as bulwarks against any censorious efforts to silence the narratives of our unique and diverse society. As educators, we need to practice what we teach. As citizens of a free society, we must speak out against the suppression of ideas, identities, and ideologies that challenge the status quo. The evolution and perhaps the survival of our democratic republic demands it. Do your part by reading and sharing the list of the top banned books this fall.