Most banned books feature people of color and LGBTQ+ characters: Graphics explain the data
Most banned books feature people of color and LGBTQ+ characters: Graphics explain the data
The majority of books banned last school year highlighted stories featuring people of color and LGBTQ+ characters and subjects. A recent analysis of thousands of banned titles by PEN America found that more than a third of unique banned titles featured people of color or fictional characters of color. A quarter of banned titles included LGBTQ+ people or characters.
PEN America is a nonprofit organization that tracks book bans. The organization said that commonly censored books portray themes of race, sexuality and gender identity. They also show young people dealing with substance abuse, suicide, depression and other mental health issues.
Across all genres and reading levels ‒ including fiction, history, biography, memoir and picture books ‒ characters and people of color were disproportionately affected by book bans in the past school year. Of all the history and biography titles, 44% featured people of color, according to the report.
Some of the titles removed include "Fences," a Pulitzer-prize winning play, "Another Brooklyn" by Jacqueline Woodson, as well as "A is for Activist," a children's picture book.
'When we strip library shelves of books about particular groups, we defeat the purpose of a library collection that is supposed to reflect the lives of all people. The damaging consequences to young people are real," said Sabrina Baêta, senior manager for PEN America's Freedom to Read program.
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Moms For Liberty, a right-wing political activist group, has been a powerful crusader within the parents' rights movement, with a major focus on restricting access to books with sexual content.
The advocacy group previously posted online that, 'age appropriate is not banning,'
The organization wrote, "Schools have the responsibility of keeping obscene and pornographic materials out of the hands of children. Our moms are working within their communities to make sure books in public schools are age appropriate for all children.'
In their analysis, PEN America found that 31% of banned titles had references to sexual experiences but with minimal detail, they added. Another 13% described the sexual experiences 'on the page."
States with the most book bans
A different PEN America report shows that Florida was the state with the most book bans during the 2023-2024 school year, followed by Iowa. The organization said laws in both states censor certain books in public schools.
In Florida, legislation dictates that titles including sexual content, even if it is not pornographic, are subject to removal. Teachers in the state can be charged with a felony for possessing and distributing inappropriate books. 'Inappropriate' can be hard to define. Mentions of race or an LGBTQ+ person or relationship and sexual violence in any context have fallen under that term.
Book bans nearly tripled during the 2023-2024 school year with more than 10,000 books banned in public schools, according to PEN America. The spike reflects a renewed effort since 2021 to ban or restrict books in the U.S.
Top banned books of the previous school year:
According to PEN America, these are the most commonly banned books in schools:
Suzanne Trimel, senior adviser for communications and media at PEN America, previously told USA TODAY that the group tracks bans through school board minutes, local news stories and reports from organizational partners across the country. PEN America notes on its website that it does not document book challenges that do not result in bans.
This story was updated to add new information.
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