An English teacher at W.E.B. Du Bois Regional Middle School in Great Barrington was in her classroom after school hours in December 2023 when the principal walked in with a plainclothes officer. Were they there because a student had brought in a weapon? Drugs? No. They were there for a book. They searched the classroom for the coming-of-age memoir “Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe, an inspiring story about growing up and being true to yourself. Why? Because that book – a winner of the Stonewall Honor Book Award and an Alex Award, and published in multiple languages – drew a complaint from an anonymous person.
The book has appeared on several banned-book lists. That gets it removed, usually from a school or public library, because it is deemed “inappropriate” – often by adults who are concerned about what kids read and who don’t see the value of literature that amplifies underrepresented voices and perspectives. “Banning books is harmful, because the process imposes one person or group’s standards, sensitivities, biases on other groups,” said Pamela Mason of the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Not to mention that anyone can attempt to ban a book, so book banning allows a small group of individuals to restrict what people everywhere can read. According to The Washington Post, 60 percent of 1,000 book challenges made during the 2021-2022 school year were by just 11 people. There was one woman who challenged five books a month for over a year, leading her school district to ban 35 titles.
Furthermore, book banning targets mostly minorities. The National Women’s Law Center writes that banning books “not only distorts our understanding of the world, but also perpetuates the marginalization of these communities by denying their stories a place in our collective consciousness.” Bans restrict access to literature that would give minority kids and teens opportunities to see their own identities recognized and celebrated. Not being able to see themselves represented in the media can make them feel isolated and alone, and also deprives them of role models who might share their experiences. In addition, this narrows the viewpoint of kids who aren’t part of the minority by allowing them to see and experience only their own perspective of the world.
Banning books is bigotry and hatred at its finest. Pen America recorded that from July 2021 to June 2022, the top four reasons books were banned was because they included LGBTQ+ themes (41 percent), characters of color (40 percent), sexual content (22 percent) and themes of racism (21 percent). By taking away books about marginalized communities and calling them trash and filth, the people represented in those books are being called trash and filth. They’re being told they don’t deserve to be heard or represented; the idea that if you’re not white, cisgender, straight, male or Christian you don’t matter is lifted up.
Banning has worsened in recent years. Pen America recorded north of 10,000 bans during the 2023-2024 school year, the most recent year for which data is available, more than triple the 3,362 bans during 2022-2023 and the 2,532 bans during 2021-2022. This means that more than 10,000 books that could have helped someone feel like they belong, educate someone or inspire someone were taken away and hidden. Additionally, the American Library Association said it recorded 821 attempts to censor library books and other materials last year, affecting adults; it’s the third-highest number of book challenges since tracking began in 1990. If books continue to get banned and challenged at this rate, we need to act fast or our libraries and minds could be censored beyond recognition.
Not all hope is lost. People all over the United States are protesting for the right to read, and they need your support. Anything from going to school board meetings and advocating for a banned book you love to spreading information through social media about why book banning is harmful makes a difference.
You can also donate to organizations that are against book banning, such as the National Coalition Against Censorship, Pen America and the American Library Association.
One of the easiest ways to help is to read banned books. No matter how old or young you are, what you look like or where you’re from, you can help win the fight against censorship.
Mia Yamaguchi
The writer is an eighth grader in Cambridge Public Schools.
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Has there ever been a book on any topic, or with any agenda, that should legitimately not be offered to school children? Anything? Free speech has its limits. Hate speech, for example, is illegal, and I hope we agree it should be. The author says that any book banning is “…bigotry and hatred…”. I disagree. If we want a rational debate on this important topic, let’s talk about where to draw the line, not whether there should be a line at all.