Book Banning

Libraries and schools around the nation are banning books to protect the people from what they see as inappropriate content. 

Book banning has happened many times in the timeline of the world, and they are for many different reasons.

 In some cases it is because people who ruled nations or states did not like the messages that they conveyed. In other cases they did not like the content, or they thought it seemed inappropriate. Another cause may be because they wanted to hide realities from their people. 

This recent book banning has been caused by leaders believing that the content in the books in which they are banning include inappropriate content, like pornography, racism, and LGBTQ+ representation. 

People around the nation have lots to say on this matter. Teens that attend schools with libraries that are getting rid of books are beginning to push back. They believe that they should be able to read what they want to read without restriction.

One major pushback that was seen by many was from student Lily Freeman. She created “Project Uncensored” in response to the banning of a pamphlet entitled “Heather Has Two Mommies” from Pennridge School District in Pennsylvania. 

Her “Project Uncensored” is a social media page that discusses themes within books that are being restricted. She also comments on why these themes are important for people to read and learn about, and why they should not be banned. 

In Texas, a federal judge orders at least 12 books be removed from public libraries because of their racial and LGBTQ+ content. 

According to CNN, “Seven residents sued county officials in April 2022, claiming their First and 14th Amendment rights were violated when books deemed inappropriate by some people in the community.”

Citizens are clearly not content with the banning of their books, whether they have read them or not. The main reason why some of them are upset is because they feel oppressed. Their decisions on which books to read are becoming limited due to the bannings. 

“I would feel disturbed and confused on why I am not allowed to read certain books,” Paige Bergman (10) replied when asked how she would feel if our school library banned books. 

As book bannings become more prominent, people feel as though their rights are being taken away on a more drastic scale.