Book Bans

Last year, more than 10,000 book bans were put into place at schools across the United States. As parents have advocated for greater control over the curriculum their child’s schools teaches and members of conservative groups like Moms for Liberty have taken control of school boards, book bans have increased by almost 200% in the last three years. With the upcoming inauguration of President-Elect Donald Trump and the inevitable implementation of Project 2025, book bans are likely to become even more common. 

Some of the most commonly banned books in the U.S. include The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, Looking for Alaska by John Green, Gender Queer by Maya Kobabe, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, and The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. These books, along with most other banned books, are centered around themes such as gender identity, systemic racism, police brutality, and abuse. 

Some people believe that students should not learn about these topics, even though they are a part of many students' lived experiences. In fact, a study at Pennsylvania State University found that about half of Americans don’t think students should be taught about the impact of racism. 

In 2021 and 2022, the Hart District removed books such as Of Mice and Men, Huckleberry Finn, and To Kill a Mockingbird from curriculum and reading lists after parents raised concerns about themes of racism and prejudice in these books. Although these books have since been reintroduced into schools, it raises an important question: Why are schools so afraid to discuss racism, even though many students experience it on a daily basis? 

As of December 2024, 17 states have passed laws restricting how teachers can discuss racism in schools, and another 26 states have had similar bills introduced. Under these laws, teachers are not allowed to discuss topics such as privilege and systemic racism, and books discussing these issues would be removed from schools. In Tennessee, where schools can face financial penalties for teaching about systemic racism, groups have sought to ban books such as Ruby Bridges Goes to School and remove a children’s book about MLK’s March on Washington from school curriculum, claiming that these books paint white people in a bad light.  

Efforts to restrict and whitewash curriculum are directly connected to the rising phenomenon of book bans. It exemplifies Americans’ inability to have uncomfortable conversations and expose the root causes of injustices, rather than simply condemning their occurrence. The implementation of Project 2025 would only exacerbate this, as it proposes criminalizing teachers and librarians who allow students to read banned books at schools. 

President-Elect Donald Trump, who stated in 2018 that he tries to read “as little as possible”, spent much of his campaign vowing to cut funding to schools that teach about racism and gender identity in ways that he doesn’t approve of. Although Trump attempted to distance himself from Project 2025 while campaigning, he has now begun to show his support for it. After he is inaugurated, schools will likely face even more restrictions on what they can and cannot teach, and millions of students will be left uneducated on essential topics. 

Some states, including California, Illinois, and New Jersey, have passed restrictions on book bans, meaning that schools cannot restrict books unless their content is deemed developmentally inappropriate. However, it is unclear whether these laws will be overridden by federal mandates on book bans. 

Amidst the uncertainty and censorship that students are facing today, it’s important to stay educated. Check out Variety’s list of 18 challenged books that everyone should read: https://variety.com/shop/banned-challenged-books-1235167579/ .