America’s right-wing forces, which claim to be the champions of free speech, are actually behind a disturbing wave of book bans sweeping the nation, as revealed by a recent report from PEN America. The bans, which have been escalating, started in response to the backlash against Nikole Hannah-Jones’s 1619 Project, with conservatives fearing that schools were using books to indoctrinate students with critical race theory. Over time, the bans have expanded to include other topics like gender ideology.
The censorship efforts have been fueled by the right-wing media, which paradoxically claims to support free speech. Entities like “Libs of TikTok” have targeted specific school systems and pressured administrators to remove certain books from library shelves. Some of the books that have been banned across the country include works by Margaret Atwood, Amy Reed, Rupi Kaur, and Ta-Nehisi Coates. The movement to ban books has disproportionately targeted works by women and nonbinary authors, as well as those addressing themes of race, racism, sexual violence, and LGBTQ+ topics.
The book bans, unprecedented in modern American history, are most severe in red states like Florida and Texas. In Florida, where Governor Ron DeSantis signed a law leading to book removals from public schools, over 5,100 books were banned in a span of six months. In Texas, the number was more than 1,500. Authors whose books have been banned have faced harassment and threats online, with Abdi Nazemian, a gay Iranian-American author, sharing his experience of being targeted with derogatory labels.
Despite the dire situation, there is some hope in the form of growing resistance to the bans. Major publishers are actively supporting a legal case to stop book banning in Iowa, and ordinary people across the country are becoming involved in efforts to end the trend. Students, authors, parents, and advocates are leading protests, read-ins, and other actions to oppose censorship and preserve the freedom to read in schools and libraries. While the book ban crisis continues to worsen, there is a glimmer of hope in the increasing pushback against this infringement on free expression.
