Historical Context
What Is Book Banning?
PEN America, one of the leading sites on book banning, defines a school book ban as any action taken against a book based on its content and as a result of parent or community challenges, administrative decisions, or in response to direct or threatened action by lawmakers or other governmental officials, that leads to a previously accessible book being either completely removed from availability to students, or where access to a book is restricted or diminished. Diminished access is a form of censorship and has educational implications that extend beyond a title’s removal.
This video goes into depth, on the complicated history of book banning.
Students protesting at Central York High School about the school wide book ban.
In today's world the type of books that are banned have to deal with the complexities of people's lives. Books that have to do with politics, racial injustice, and sexuality. In an article by Pen America it says “Overwhelmingly, book banners continue to target stories by and about people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals. In this six-month period, 30% of the unique titles banned are books about race, racism, or feature characters of color. Meanwhile, 26% of unique titles banned have LGBTQ+ characters or themes.”