In 2022-2023, over 3,300 books were banned in schools, according to PEN America. This is a concerning amount of books, seeing that reading is usually portrayed as something a lot of kids should be comfortable doing. So why are books like To Kill a Mockingbird being banned? I will share some thoughts on why, where, and what we can do about book banning.  

Why are books being banned?

Books can be banned for a multitude of reasons. In the cases that are most relevant, parents might not find a certain book topic appropriate for their child. In Morocco Elementary School in Winchester, MA, a parent wanted a book taken out of the library simply because it had two girls holding hands on the cover. The book was taken out since, as stated by one teacher, it was not something the school wanted to fight. Especially now, the main “inappropriate topics” that get a lot of books removed from school libraries are sexuality, gender identity, and racism. 

For example, To Kill a Mockingbird is a book being debated in Natick because it includes a lot of racism and has a character that is on trial for rape. This makes the book a very heavy topic for students and is what people lean toward when they want to ban this book. 

Where are book bans mainly occurring in the US?

From recent reports, a lot of book bannings have taken place in Florida, Texas, and Missouri. These states are all in the south or midwest. Keep in mind, though, these states are the ones with the highest book bannings. There are still other states that have books banned, as seen in the map below.

Not only are there a lot of book bans in the states named earlier, but there are also bannings all around the US. The map shows that Massachusetts has 1-10 books banned, and, according to The Boston Globe, there are at least five. 

This book banning pandemic does not only take place in far away states, but also close towns. It might be hard to notice when book banning is happening near you, so that brings up the question…

What can we do about this?

Books are an important part of growing up, not only in school, but outside. We use books to find another place in the world and beyond. We engulf ourselves in timeless stories. It is hard to do that when books are being taken out of public libraries. However, there are a few things that we can do locally. 

One thing is for people to understand that we use these books to teach how uncomfortable topics can be wrong. If the book has a lot of stereotypes, we can prove that it debunks them rather than perpetuates them. This can be difficult with certain topics, but it is something that is possible and could be key in other classes. 

Another way is for Natick to team up with Morse Institute Library (MIL). This is because the MIL is considered a safe haven for banned books. Even if Natick and all of MA is very low in book bans compared to the rest of the states, it wouldn’t hurt having a team from the MIL to come in and talk about the topic.  

According to USA Today and PEN America, book bans have increased over the past few school years and are something every state should pay more attention to. A problem like this should be addressed since it happens a lot across the US, goes against our First Amendment right, and can discourage children's critical thinking. All of this book banning is absolutely something that should be brought up in schools - not only in MA or just bigger book banning states, but all of the US.