Banned Books Week: A Fight to Keep Our Right to Read

By Saron Hatsey

The week of October 1st-7th celebrates Banned Books Week, a 7 day period celebrating the open access of novels and highlighting the issue of the censorship of books in American schools. While this week is always important to recognize annually, it's especially important we recognize it this year. In 2023, PEN America reported that this school year, there were nearly 1,500 book bans - a 28% increase compared to the previously surveyed time period last school year.  

“Books with literary merit-ones that take a sensitive topic and explain them well, shouldn’t be censored,” my Literature teacher said in an interview.

Unfortunately, many books with literary merit have been banned from shelves across the country. The Bluest Eye, a captivating novel covering topics such as racism and classism, faced 29 bans within the 2022-2023 school year. Sold, a unique book that discusses the often ignored subject of the sex trade in rural communities, was met with 24 bans across the nation during the 2022-2023 school year.

“Just because you don’t like the novel doesn’t mean you should remove it,” he said, “if it’s misleading, or harmful [like glorifying/normalizing abuse], then sure. But if it’s because of a disagreement with ideas? No, you shouldn’t.”

Many of the book bans often consist of books discussing topics of identity or ideas. 30% of banned or challenged books between July 2022-December 2022 had themes regarding race or racism. 26% of these novels had LGBTQ+ characters or themes. And according to the American library association, 5 of the top 10 most banned or challenged books from 2010-2019 discussed topics of race or queerness.

Banned books and literary censorship go hand in hand with the over politicization of stories and identity. With the sudden increase in book bans and challenges, it's important that we, as students, take control of the literature we can and can’t access. Through foundations like us, The Beatrice Martin Foundation, and events like Banned Books week, we can recognize and condemn the actions of the higher powers limiting our knowledge. 

Sources:

Banned Books Week | October 1 – 7, 2023, https://bannedbooksweek.org/. Accessed 3 October 2023.

Tolin, Lisa. “The 11 Most Banned Books of the 2022-2023 School Year.” PEN America, 21 September 2023, https://pen.org/banned-book-list-2023/. Accessed 3 October 2023.

“Top 100 Most Banned and Challenged Books: 2010-2019 | Advocacy, Legislation & Issues.” American Library Association, https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/decade2019. Accessed 3 October 2023.

“2023 Banned Books Update: Banned in the USA.” PEN America, 20 April 2023, https://pen.org/report/banned-in-the-usa-state-laws-supercharge-book-suppression-in-schools/. Accessed 3 October 2023.