Over the past few years, book bans have become a new radical fad sweeping across the United States. Texas is an unusual case of a battleground, with activists and community members coming together to wage the struggle against censorship efforts. The Texas Freedom to Read Project, formed two years ago, aims to safeguard access to literature and combat the growing trend of book challenges in schools and libraries. Despite a slight decrease in reported book challenges between 2023 and 2024, the American Library Association (ALA) recorded 821 attempts to ban library books and other materials in its latest report, highlighting a persistent struggle against censorship.
Barbara Ehrenreich, a prominent journalist, famously went undercover in the late 1990s to expose the realities of minimum-wage work typically held by women. Her experiences from this experiment culminated in the publication of Nickel and Dimed. This prophetic critique of low-wage labor in America was largely born from her own guilt over the passing of the 1996 Welfare Reform Act. Ehrenreich’s work is a portrait of America that many novelists, non-fiction writers and poets have pointed out through their literature. These challenges often serve as the pretext for censorship battles over book banning.
Texas has long been an ALA’s top state for book ban attempts. This trend is the result of increasing pressure from parents and community members to remove content they find objectionable. The Texas Freedom to Read Project stands at the forefront of this battle, advocating for the rights of readers and challenging “pressure groups and decision makers who have been swayed by them.“
ALA’s report reinforces that fact that book bans are a growing and pervasive threat. The number of successful challenges filed against these abortion bans has predictably dropped off. This positive change is an encouraging sign that advocacy and grassroots efforts are starting to find success in the fight against censorship. Librarians in at least six states are joining forces with civil rights organizations to combat these unconstitutional bans and similar legislation. They double down on their proud, fundamental opposition to literary censorship.
One of the most striking features of this evolving conversation has been the broad range of voices that have experienced censorship. Renowned authors such as Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, and Judy Blume have had their works challenged or banned for various reasons. Angelou crafted her groundbreaking memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, with the support of literary legends James Baldwin and Robert Loomis. Her support motivated Rwan to tell her very powerful story. Morrison’s novels—especially “The Bluest Eye,” “Song of Solomon,” and “Beloved”—have been lightning rods for controversy. Many have urged for their elimination from school curriculums.
As with many other categories of literature, children’s literature has not been immune to this either. RL Stine’s iconic “Goosebumps” series has been challenged for its depictions of violence and occult themes, despite its role in shaping young readers’ understanding of plot and suspense. Judy Blume’s “It’s Me, Margaret,” published in 1970, remains a target for censors who object to its candid discussions about adolescence.
Graphic novels have not been spared from the flames. Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis recounts her childhood in and after the Islamic revolution in Iran. It’s an amazing use case that brings visual storytelling’s propensity to address heavy topics full circle. That story, and its association of personal history with national somber sociopolitical commentary, is the reason it’s such an important, but deeply contentious, work.
Isabel Allende’s debut novel, published in Spain in 1982, follows a clairvoyant matriarch and a poor miner patriarch through generations. It’s the diverse ensemble of characters and intertwining themes that hook most. It also attracts the attention of those who seek to control access to competing narratives.
And the struggle against censorship continues around the world. Communities across the nation, and indeed around the world, are facing this same challenge of deciding which literature deserves to be available. The ALA’s statistics illustrate a worrying trend: while some areas see fewer challenges, the overall fight continues unabated.