Throughout America and all over the world, the controversy of banned books has arisen. “The Catcher in the Rye,” “1984,” “To Kill A Mockingbird,” “The Perks of Being A Wallflower,” “The Hate U Give,” all of these classic American novels are now being banned along with many others, but why?
Books mainly get banned due to the content of the book. Many of the books banned include ideas or messages relating to race, gender identity and sexuality. According to the American Library Association, the top 10 reasons for a book to be challenged or banned include content of:
- Sexual content (92.5%)
- Offensive language (61.5%)
- Unsuited to age group (49%)
- Religious viewpoint (26%)
- LGBTQIA+ content (23.5%)
- Violence (19%)
- Racism (16.5%)
- Use of illegal substances (12.5%)
- “Anti-family” content (7%)
- Political viewpoint (6.5%)
Challenging a book is mainly focused on the local level, aiming to ban books in places like libraries, school districts, organizations, institutions and retailers.
The book bans result in book sellers refusing to have a specific book in store and a library excluding a book from its collection. Primarily, people see book bans on a more local level, as it is difficult to expand a book ban on a larger scale because of the First Amendment.
“The application of the First Amendment hinges on the existence of evidence that books are banned for political reasons and violate freedom of expression. However, without more explicit guidance, school boards often make decisions that prioritize ‘community values’ first and access to information second,” journalist Morgan Gilbard said in a Columbia University article.
While there is still the widespread problem of book bans, people have found ways to celebrate banned books. Established in 1982, the American Library Association created the Ban Books Week Coalition. This week is to celebrate and read books on the banned list to express the right to read.
This year the theme of the Ban Book Week Coalition is “Censorship is so 1984, Read for Your Rights.” The theme is based on one of the banned books, “1984” by George Orwell, which is based on the idea of censorship and privacy within the fictitious government of Big Brother as Orwell gives a warning of the dangers of censorship. The Ban Book Week Coalition is a week to remind everyone that we all have the right to read regardless of the book.
