Kasey Meehan, the director of PEN America’s Freedom to Read program, said, “Censorship pressures have expanded and escalated, taking on different forms—laws, directives, guidance that sow confusion, lists of books mislabeled as ‘explicit’ materials, and ‘do not buy’ lists. A disturbing ‘everyday banning’ and normalization of censorship has worsened and spread over the last four years. The result is unprecedented.” (Kirkus)
Things have been getting increasingly worse with the banning/challenging of books over the past several years, and now more than ever, in the past eight months.
"Federal efforts to restrict education use rhetoric from state and local efforts to ban books. In 2025, a new vector of book banning pressure has appeared – the federal government. Since returning to office, the Trump Administration has mimicked rhetoric about “parents’ rights”, which, in Florida and other states, has largely been used to advance book bans and censorship of schools, against the wishes of many parents, students, families, and educators. Under the guise of “returning education to parents,” President Trump has released a series of Executive Orders (EOs) mainly: “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling,” “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism,” and “Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing.”"
Although none of these EOs take a direct aim at books, they were used as justification for the July 2025 removal of almost 600 books from Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools on military bases. In restricting discussion of transgender people and diversity, equity, and inclusion and barring schools from “promoting un-American ideas,” books like ABC of Equality by Chana Ewing or several volumes from the series Heartstopper by Alice Oseman were removed from access. Students and their families responded by suing.
(From this excellent article, The Normalization of Book Banning, on PEN America)
Common targets include books that:
- Feature LGBTQ+ characters or themes.
- Address race, racism, or civil rights.
- Discuss sexual health, puberty, or consent.
- Books that explore difficult realities such as violence, abuse, or addiction are also frequently challenged.
Case in point with that last one (violence). It has been recently revealed that Stephen King was the most banned author in the 2024/2025 school year...206 times. You can't convince me that some of those instances were not due to his outspoken "woke" public opinions (which I applaud).
As this administration continues its attempt to censor free speech and eliminate references to diversity, historical truth, and even questions the validity of science, we can expect things may only get worse. We've already begun to go back so what will stop them from taking us back even further.
For instance:
Science - Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species, first published in 1859 and banned in 1895 for contradicting Christian beliefs. Darwin’s publication has been called “the most influential banned book.” On the Origin of Species lays the groundwork for modern evolutionary biology. Very little about science is understandable without a basic knowledge of Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection. (Intellectual Freedom Blog)
Diversity - Frequently challenged books include:
- A Gathering of Old Men by Ernest J. Gaines
- A Hero Ain't Nothin But a Sandwich by Alice Childress
- A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines
- Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
- All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
- Always Running by Luis J Rodriguez
- Am I Blue?: Coming Out from the Silence by Marion Dane Baue
- America by E.R. Frank
- And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
- Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden
Full list here
- The Autobiography of Malcolm X: Banned for racism and violence; described as a "how-to-manual" for crime and decried for its “anti-white statements.”
- Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, Dee Brown: Banned; perceived as divisive and the district wanted to avoid controversy. "If there's a possibility that something might be controversial, then why not eliminate it."
- The Hundred Years' War on Palestine, Rashid Khalidi: Banned in Michigan, 2024 - Little Free Libraries / ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom
Full list here
I conclude today's post with a quote from the end of The Normalizing of Book Banning. It is spot on.
