The following is an opinion written by Southgate junior, Kayli Renaud.
I sat in the Stockwell Library with the goal of completing a project when I decided to look up the book “Perks of Being a Wallflower,” as it seemed important at the time. What I wasn’t expecting was to see that it had been placed on the banned books list for many school districts. I couldn’t understand how one of my favorite stories had become something people saw as a weapon in schools.
I became curious as to what other books were being labeled as inappropriate for public schools; I thought it must take a lot of complaints for a book to be completely removed from a school district, but I would find myself to be incredibly wrong.
Books such as “Perks of Being a Wallflower” and “How To Be An Antiracist” were on these lists to be removed for their content. Upon learning this, I became enveloped in the research and understanding of where my favorite books were being banned.
Schools to Libraries
Book banning has become a better-known issue in the United States as of late. A New York Times article stated that between January and August of 2023, “nearly 700 attempts to censor library materials” were made and “targeted more than 1,900 individual titles.”
As seen in the headlines, there has been an incredible rise in the content being banned from public schools.
However, many are unaware of the attempt to ban books in public libraries, as well.
The American Library Association (ALA) has been targeted in recent years with the request to ban certain books from their public settings. Rather than remaining a public school issue, book banning has evolved into one of a nationwide fight, whether that be for or against certain content areas.
The director of the ALA, Deborah Caldwell-Stone, said in the New York Times that content banning and censorship was an issue of the schools, “and if people wanted to read (banned books), they could go to a public library. However, this is no longer the case with the movement to ban books from public libraries as well. She added that this movement is “depriving everyone of the ability to make the choice to read (banned books).”
I was told as a child that if my school did not hold a book I wanted, it could more than likely be found at the local library. However, this idea can be thrown out the window for those of us in the year 2024. Book banning has escalated from public classrooms and upset parents to that of pulling content from a public service industry. Action must be taken to put a stop to the censorship and removal of choice within the world of public libraries.
Books Are Being Politicized
Under the lists of banned books within our school systems, a great portion of them are those that contain issues of racism and LGBTQ+ matters. It is not a coincidence that certain subjects are being removed from school curricula, districts and even public libraries. However, one might not always understand the true impact of banning books.
According to the Book “(Re)considering what we know: learning thresholds in writing, composition, rhetoric, and literacy” focused on diverse ways of writing, must have an understanding that “while writing may seem to be a skill or means of communication that has nothing to do with race, every act of writing is racialized.”
The Center for American Progress, an institute focused on public policies, published a report in 2022 that 17 states have moved to introduce bills that restrict how teachers discuss American History and current events.
With these particular choices being made, it is easy to see the racist motivation behind the books selected to be challenged. In doing research, it has become quite apparent the correlation between states banning books at high rates, especially those written about marginalized groups, and the political faction they follow.
It is a disturbing thought to think that the banning of content is being used to control the youth of today and suppress certain experiences of other American people. The authors being targeted are more commonly people of color and those writing about the real lives of people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals. It is apparent that political viewpoint is a motivator for the proposals as “the most dramatic spike in book bans took place in Florida,” which is known for being a mostly conservative state.
Many individuals, including politicians, are pleased with their ability to coerce public schools and libraries to uphold and carry forth the information particularly selected for the children of their area, rather than allowing a wide range of ideologies. I feel for the voices being labeled as inappropriate, wild or not fit for young readers, as they are victims of suppression and censorship.
The Legality of it All
This banning frenzy places censorship onto real issues of the world and will potentially “violate the First Amendment, 14th Amendment and Title IX rights of all students and educators, with particular disproportionate impact on people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals.”
Many of the bannings follow in suit of purposeful silencing and erasure of racial and queer experiences, which would certainly fall under the basis of discrimination in a public setting. It should not be allowed for politicians to decide upon what is authorized to be sought out and read by everyday people, however, we do not live in a world where that is common opinion.
In her own research into the matter, Jensen Rehn, who underwent the legalities of book banning and proposed the issue of how to observe these proposals, recommended looking upon these censorships “through a First Amendment free speech framework rather than a parental rights framework.” It is very understandable that the First Amendment should be observed in said cases, as the issue of banning books has evolved to include the public service industry of libraries.
It seems like, according to a 2022 report published by the Center for American Progress, many Americans understand and appreciate our right to free speech, though the action of banning literature from the public, whether that be in schools or libraries is counterproductive to upholding that right.
On a final note, I would encourage everyone who comes across my writing to read and understand as much as they can through books, banned or not. It is impossible to be too educated.
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