There is an attack on our public education system, the freedom of speech, and even the ability to think for ourselves, and it’s only getting worse. For example, according to Pen America, there were 2,532 book bans nationwide in the 2021-2022 school year, 3,362 book bans from 2022-2023, and 10,046 book bans from 2023-2024.
When you ban books from schools you take away our ability to learn and deprive us from the knowledge that could have benefited us. The books being banned aren’t insignificant, it’s not like there won’t be a whole left in our hearts where they used to be. But that’s the exact reason why these books got banned in the first place: they had an impact on people, told the truth, and portrayed real-life situations and feelings that you and I can relate to.
Bella Milatovic (9) explained why the most impactful books are banned the most.
“I believe the impactful books are getting banned more because they are written about issues that our country doesn’t want to address,” Milatovic said.
Books are amazing and extraordinary things that promote enlightenment and wisdom. But when you take away even the simple option of reading one, you are rejecting its very existence, stripping people from opportunities that could have changed their lives and therefore, are erasing history.
“Books can change lives by making people feel seen and heard when they feel like nothing around them is going to plan,” Milatovic said.
Most of these very books were made to teach our youth. Afterall, how are they supposed to appreciate what they have and gain empathy, and more importantly love for all people and find a new profound understanding, when they don’t even know what happened? The topics of these banned books are very important, they should never be forgotten, and we should keep on revisiting these topics over and over again, because the struggles we have fought over these issues have laid the foundation of this country and are evident in our core principles.
“Book bans are affecting young people by limiting what they are able to learn and read about,” Milatovic said.
Unfortunately, we are not excluded from this problem, because according to St. Charles Community College, Missouri ranked third in the nation for book bans with 12 districts banning 315 books from July to December of 2022. The Wentzville School District in particular, banned 220 of those books. Also, according to Pen America, there were a total of 333 book bans in Missouri, during the 2022-2023 school year. These book bans happened as a result of the Senate Bill 775 that passed in 2022, which took books out of schools because they were deemed as “sexually explicit” and even determined that it was a misdemeanor to distribute this material to students.
The main banned books in Missouri are “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood, “Watchmen” by Alan Moore, “Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic” by Alison Bechdel, and “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson.
The most banned book in Missouri, and perhaps the most banned book in America, is “Gender Queer: A Memoir” by Maia Kobabe. According to EducationWeek, this book was banned in a total of 41 districts in Missouri where access to it is either restricted or was removed from shelves entirely.
Olexa Mitchell (9) expressed why she thinks that the most banned book in Missouri explores topics of gender queerness and identity.
“I feel like some parents think that by exposing their children to things such as different sexualities and genders, that it’s going to influence them to start doing things that correlate with that, when that’s not the case at all,” Mitchell said. “That’s why I believe that the reason these books are getting banned is because their parents don’t want their children to be queer so they think that by not exposing them to it, that will stop it.”
Less specific examples of banned books are books by Ellen Hopkins because of her topics of drug abuse and human trafficking, graphic novels, including adaptations of classics, and educational books about the Holocaust. One thing that I can surely tell you is that these books weren’t banned by happenstance, no, it was entirely intentional, and trends clearly began to emerge at the specific books that were being banned.
For instance, according to Pen America, in the 2023-2024 school year, 57% of the most commonly banned books nationwide included sex or sex-related topics, 44% had characters or people of color, and 39% had LGBTQIA+ characters or people.
“I think that yes, kids should not learn about sex until they are of the appropriate age, but completely banning books is not going to stop them from figuring things out,” Mitchell said. “I believe that parents should not ban the books but have their kids read them and ask questions so that they better understand, rather than learning some other way and being in the dark.”
Approximately 60% of banned books were targeted towards young adult readers, a time when we are just starting to understand the ways of the world and when things feel stacked up against us the most.
Also, 59% of banned books addressed grief and health, 40% addressed substance use and abuse, 38% addressed mental health disorders, and 37% addressed empowerment and self-esteem.
All of these topics are critical and need to be more widely talked about, especially to young people, who are at very important stages in their lives and are often struggling with issues that they feel they can’t speak up about. You see, books also provide a sense of community for people who feel like they’re alone in what they’re dealing with.
“The reason why I think most book bans are targeted towards children is because of their parents not wanting to expose them to newer things or get things in their heads that they think they shouldn’t know yet,” Mitchell said. “But some books can really help kids out with sensitive topics that they have never heard about, so I don’t think the bans are helping.”
However, injustice has always been prevalent, discrimination is a battle we’re largely familiar with. We just didn’t think that we’d have to face such blatant disregard for diversity in our schools, just when we thought we were in the midst of progress we’re suddenly plunged into a crisis.
There is a book that I have connected deeply with, as have many other African Americans, and to me, the most egregious act was the banning of this book: “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker. When you think of African Americans and our culture, after slavery, after Martin Luther King Jr., you think of this book, play, movie, or however this masterpiece made its way into your life. This book is the staple of African American culture, the heart of what we stand for and have gone through as African Americans.
I was honored to watch this as a movie and felt like I was finally stamping my “Black card” because it was that much of an integral part of our culture. I cannot even begin to explain the complex emotions I felt or the highs and lows but I can tell you that it is something that every African American should experience and the fact that this opportunity could and has been taken away is an absolute travesty. This book portrays our history and that is not something that should ever be erased or forgotten.
My people were shackled in chains and caged, treated as less than human, as less than animals. They were taken from their homeland and then transported to ships where they were subjected to the most horrible conditions imaginable: starvation, disease, and death were commonplace. If they survived the trip, they found themselves in immensely unfamiliar surroundings and were sold off as property to the highest bidder. Women were raped, children ripped from their mother’s arms, wives separated from their husbands. We had to work in fields for extremely long hours and under grueling conditions. We were beaten senseless and lynched for not obeying commands. And all of this was for no apparent reason other than the color of our skin, because that made the White man feel like he was superior. It’s amazing how something so simple can be the catalyst of unrelenting hate.
And even after slavery was abolished racism continued but just in a new form with invisible chains: segregation. African Americans were separated from White people because we were deemed as dirty, dangerous, and inferior. This potent racism is fully and exquisitely displayed in “The Color Purple” and this is something that every child deserves to know about. We are doing them a disservice when we deny them the knowledge of our past actions and how much we have grown as a country.
Even though African Americans have fought through and endured so much hate, we have never broken because we are unbreakable, and our actions have shown that we are incredibly resilient. If there is one thing that I have learned it is that no matter how much society tells me otherwise, I am extremely proud to call myself an African American.
So, maybe you can see now, how the banning of this book is a complete rejection of my people, my culture, and even myself. Because everyday of my life I am reminded of what my people and my ancestors have been through everytime I look in the mirror. I carry their pain with every step I take. My every breath is committed in their honor. So, the fact that this book could be discarded so carelessly and regarded as if its entire existence could ever be forgotten, is completely beyond me.
