Book Bans in America
The United States is facing a surge in book bans not seen in decades. According to The Guardian and The New York Times, over 4,000 titles were challenged or removed in the last year alone. These bans disproportionately target books that explore race, LGBTQ+ identities, and historical injustice. Often driven by ideologically motivated advocacy groups, censorship is accelerating through vague or poorly worded state laws that give wide discretion to remove books from schools and libraries.
Florida, Texas, Missouri, and Iowa are among the states where legislation has allowed or even mandated removals of titles deemed “inappropriate”—without clear standards or due process. In some cases, books were banned simply for containing depictions of racism or gender identity. Graphic novels, classics, and modern young adult literature have all been targeted.
This censorship not only threatens education, it also dehumanizes students whose lives and identities are erased from the curriculum.
