Book Banning

Book Bans Fire Up Debates

Parents vs. readers & authors spark debates in schools over books locally, nationally

by Addison Gollnick

After weeks of backlash from angry parents, and harassing comments in every inbox of every social media account he has, award-winning author ideologies,” English Department Chair Rick Solt. “The sad part is that a lot of politicians are getting involved, and so are parents and community members without reading the Jonathan Evison finally gets the opportunity to turn all of his social media accounts back to public, as the people forget about him and his story, and move on.

Thousands of school districts around the country have banned books for various reasons. Some see it as a form of protecting children from “ the subject matter in these If we don’t look at ourselfs, books, and others see it as censorship. who we are now, and who we

During the 2021-2022 were, we will never not be conschool year there have been one or more book bans in demmed to repeat our pasts. 138 school districts across the country, according to ” the Sept. 19, 2022 article from Pen America. These school districts represent over 4 million students. When a ban occurs, the book in question is located and stripped from every place possible within the school campus by school officials..

The easy answer to why people want to ban certain books is because they believe it’s inappropriate for the audience for which it’s been made available, but It’s not always that simple.

“I think that people think by banning books they’re protecting people from certain book and understanding what it is.. “If you don’t want to read a book then don’t check it out. If you don’t want your child to read it then you can also tell your child not to read it, but to start banning books is a slippery slope. You start banning books, but where do you stop?” Fort Mill School District has a committee of administrators and parents in place for when books become challenged. They [the committee] chose to recommend a book ban, but ultimately, the district office has the power to make the decision. This came about after the discovery of the book Gender Queer: A Memoir was found in a Fort Mill school’s library, and effectivley pulled from every shlef in the district after being deemed pornographic. Books in the curriculum at Nation Ford are banned in countless school districts around the country as well. Books such as “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “Of Mice and Men” are banned because of their “vulgarity and use of racial slurs”. At Nation Ford,

Multiple library books that have been banned in other school districts acrss the country for various reason including “promoting witchcraft, too dark, setting bad examples, and language.”

teachers and students still use them as talking points.

“If we don’t look at ourselves, who we are now and who we were, we will never not be condemned to repeat our pasts,” Solt said.

It’s typically parents that are finding these books they deem inappropriate for their own children, but by taking it away from one child, you’re effectively taking it away from all of the children that want to read it in the school or district. But these same books banning parents don’t bat an

eye on the internet. “Sometimes they [parents] underestimate what students have access to… I think it’s a little naive to think that students won’t see these things online.”

The uprising in banned and restricted books not only affects the school districts they’re being banned from, but the authors of the books themselves.

“The first few weeks for me were very sketchy,” says Jonathan Evison, the author of “Lawn Boy,” the second-most banned book

in the nation. “I got a lot of sick, perverted, pedophilic notes from people–accusing me of being a pedophile and saying really graphic things about my daughters, which was creepy. I had to shut down my social networks for a couple of weeks”

Lawn boy is a semi-autobiographical book focusing on Mike Munoz, a young Mexican-American man who desires to live the American dream, but ends up mowing lawns for a living in the prime of his life. The book covers social distinctions, LGBTQ topics, self-discovery, and overcoming cultural discrimination.

The book was intended for Evison’s typical audience–adults– but because of “Lawn Boy’s” coming-of-age aspects, it attracted teenagers.

“The language in the book wasn’t what bothers people about my book. What bothers people is that Mike is a young person of color that lives on the a** end of capitalism, who is non-binary and has some very strong opinions about the American dream,” Evison said. “When he’s in the library, he’s asking ‘Where are the books about me?’. And that’s what these book banners are going to have–a whole other generation of people asking.”

“‘Lawn Boy’ was ranked the second most banned book in the nation, not yet beating out the book “Gender Queer: A Memoir” by Maia Kobabe. Both of these books rose to the top of best-seller lists after being banned from schools across the country.

“Some people want to keep marginalized people–LGBTQ people, people of color–on the margin,’’ he says.

That’s where [book banners] feel the marginalized belong, he added “Because their idea of life and liberty in America is very much about white, Christian cis-gendered people,” Evison said. “It’s no coincidence that the overwhelming majority of books that are being banned and challenged have LGBTQ characters or people of color as characters.”

Censorship is one of the largest issues young people face when schools decide to ban a book. The First Amendment stands to protect the freedom of speech, which further extends to books, but it’s not always clear what is exactly protected by the first amendment. The National Coalition Against Censorship opposes censorship, and promotes freedom of thought and expression. They encourage divergent perspectives and voices from everyone, including people that have been historically silenced. Youth Free Expression Program Coordinator at NCAC Gianmarco Antosca has some concerns and advice about what he sees today. “We do believe that schools and their communities have the right to decide which books should be included in school libraries. Generally speaking, we believe that parents should be allowed to decide what is or is not appropriate for their child, but that right does not extend to other children.”

“There will always be debate about what is and isn’t appropriate, especially when it comes to young people,” the group says. “There will always be challenges, and yes, likely there will be bannings. The best we can do is encourage more freedom, more conversations, and more open-mindedness.”

For the past 20 years, the rise in book bans has become unpredictable. While some believe it’s a good thing, meant for the protection of our youth, others think in un-american, narrowing the young peoples view on the world.

“When he’s in the library, he’s asking ‘Where are the books about me?’. And that’s what these book banners are going to have–a whole other generation of people asking.” ”