Freedom Dies with Book Bans
Conservative hardliners in the US are pushing ahead with book bans to limit knowledge on black history, LGBTQ+ stories, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
The news gets flooded with crisis after crisis. From LA immigration crackdowns, a political assassination, and tariff disputes to the Israel-Iran war. No news item seems to last particularly long, and there is one subject that isn’t getting any attention at all right now: Book Bans.
Over the past years, conservative hardliners in the US have quietly worked together with Republicans to ban thousands of books. Most of these bans happened statewide, but with Trump in office, nationwide bans are emerging.
Why is that so important? Because they are not merely banning books that should be subject to restrictions, like Hitler’s Mein Kampf.
They are banning ordinary books that focus on race or LGBTQ+ issues. In the database of recently banned books, 175 instances feature the word “black”, 30 feature the word “race”, and around 50 feature the word “racism”. Over 300 bans feature the word “queer”. (One book can get banned multiple times across different communities)
Some of these books are bestsellers, such as Angie Thomas’ The Hate U Give, a critically acclaimed novel about police brutality, the Black Lives Matter Movement, and the African American experience.
Learning About Racism… or Not?
The Hate U Give has repeatedly been subject to banning requests, as conservatives argue it’s anti-police (a cop is the bad guy in the novel).
Press releases by committees that have banned the book, however, go out of their way to make sure no one thinks they are banning the book because it shines a light on America’s systematic racism & police brutality. They rather cite sexual content as a reason why the book should be banned from libraries (to “protect kids”). For The Hate U Give, this alleged sexual content is beyond ridiculous: The book features talk (just talk) about two adults having an affair. Characters also discuss sex and, you won’t believe it, condoms.
Using alleged sexual content to ban books is a widespread measure used by conservatives. Almost all of the LGBTQ+ books and most books about race that get banned do so because of “age-inappropriate content”. Recently, the Age Appropriate Materials Act was enacted by Republicans in Tennessee. The result: Hundreds of books that feature LGBTQ+ content vanished from Tennessee libraries.
But, as with The Hate U Give, conservative parents and school boards like to find absurd reasons to ban books for being age-inappropriate, often discarding the fact that these topics are dealt with delicately in the literature. A prime example of this is the bestselling novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
The Coming-of-Age book, which became a box office hit starring Emma Watson and Logan Lerman, follows teenager Charlie as he struggles through everyday life with depression. (WARNING: Spoiler ahead)
In the book, we learn that Charlie was sexually abused by his aunt as a young kid. For conservatives, that was enough reason to ban the book.
At no point did it occur to them that the book doesn’t encourage sexual abuse but deals with it and its consequences on victims critically?
To highlight the hypocrisy: A book conservatives would never ban is the Holy Bible. Even though it features sexual content, like incest and rape. This leads one to believe that the crusade against literature like The Hate U Give or Perks of Being a Wallflower has a different cause.
Who is Behind the Book Bans?
The book ban frenzy picked up steam after Covid. In Florida, the leading state when it comes to Book Bans, Republican Governor de Santis cemented anti-wokeness as one of his core governing principles. Far-right groups, like Moms For Liberty, put pressure on local school boards to ban books they view as “inappropriate” or “woke”.
This is particularly problematic since, in the US, school boards get elected. In recent years, these elections have become increasingly polarized and partisan as far-right Republicans try to seize control of school boards. In conservative states like Florida & Tennessee, the state government helps out with laws like the mentioned Age Appropriate Materials Act.
Where do Book Bans Lead?
Book bans are widely unpopular. 71% of voters in the US oppose efforts to ban books. That is not all that surprising. After all, book bans are historically associated with undemocratic regimes. The perhaps most infamous instance of how book bans are a center of an authoritarian regime is Nazi Germany. The Nazis burned books they deemed unpatriotic as one of their first acts in 1933. The image below is known around the world as the first step towards tyranny and death.
Nevertheless, Republicans and conservative advocacy groups continue to push ahead with their bans, seeking shelter behind the “appropriate materials”-excuse.
Where will this lead the US? We can’t yet know, but students who are growing up in areas that are affected by book bans will have a much harder time learning about racism or LGBTQ stories. This education fallout can have troubling consequences when it comes to awareness of these issues, something America is already struggling with.
In Germany, we are often praised for being Vergangenheitsbewältigungsweltmeister (World champions at confronting our history). That is something the US is not because even though America has been through decades of darkness with slavery and segregation, this darkness gets surprisingly little attention in schools, especially in the South.
America’s Refusal to Accept Its Past
Former slave plantations, where countless African Americans suffered at the hands of white slavers, are being rented out as wedding locations. These are places that should be memorials to remember the atrocities because never forgetting an atrocity is how we make sure it never happens again. Instead, they hide the dark history.
In the southern states, the confederate flag, the flag of slavery, is still being used as a sign of tradition. White-Supremacy murders like the Tulsa race massacre weren’t taught in schools in Oklahoma for decades. (This changed in 2021 but is still subject to debate)
Why take this quick detour away from book bans? Because it shows how important education and remembrance are. By banning books about America’s most marginalized groups, Republicans are erasing the memory of America’s atrocities. This is also a core issue for President Trump, whose Executive Orders banned thousands of these books from military schools. He seeks to censor “anti-American”-language at national parks. He seeks to erase the achievements of civil rights activists from history. He seeks to Make America Great Again. What could go wrong?
The American Library Association offers ways to get involved and protest book bans.