Book Banning in the U.S. at an All-Time High

Since 2021, a rapidly increasing number of states, schools, and school districts have pulled books off library shelves to censor specific themes, including racial justice and LGBTQ+ issues 

Prior to 2020, the phrase, “book banning,” didn’t have much of a place in the day-to-day American lexicon, nor did the battle against censorship come to mind as a hot-button political issue. Over the last few years, though, the U.S. has seen a modern resurgence in book banning as an all-time high number of schools, parents, and legislatures across the country pull titles off shelves over content controversies, namely for political reasons. Today, more than 4,000 books have been banned in the U.S. across 247 school districts and 41 states, with many titles under deliberate attack for their content about race, racism, and LGBTQ+ experiences.

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