(WASHINGTON) – Representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD-8) and Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) today introduced a resolution in Congress to mark Banned Books Week as PEN America documented unprecedented censorship in public schools, rising to an alarming 10,000 book bans in the last school year, a tripling over the previous school year.
The resolution calls on local governments and school districts to protect the rights of students to learn and the ability of teachers and librarians to teach “by providing students with a wide array of books reflecting the full breadth and diversity of viewpoints and perspectives.”
On Monday, PEN America issued its latest nationwide findings on book bans, recording a staggering 10,000+ instances of book bans –more than triple those from the prior 2022-2023 year. About 8,000 banning instances were documented in Florida and Iowa, due in large part to new state laws targeting the substance of available materials.
Following trends from previous years in which books were targeted for including diverse perspectives, book bans from the 2023-2024 school year overwhelmingly featured stories with people or characters of color and/or LGBTQ+ people. We also observed how cases of book bans increasingly target stories by and about women and girls and/or that include depictions of rape or sexual abuse.
“We thank Representative Raskin and Senator Schatz and all the cosponsors for their continued commitment to academic freedom and the First Amendment. The movement to ban books is an affront to public education and students’ ability to understand the world,” said PEN America’s Congressional Affairs Lead, Laura Schroeder. “The targeted bans intentionally seek to silence the experiences of authors of color, LGBTQI+ authors and stories that explore the themes of racism, trauma, religion, gender identity and sexual identity. Students are being deprived of stories that can help them deal with real lived experiences such as trauma and violence or even to see positive representations of themselves in their local school or library. This must end.”
PEN America said the resolution highlighting the importance of literary freedom and the integral benefits of reading unique stories brings more awareness to book bans. Legislation such as the Fight Book Bans Act, sponsored by Congressman Frost, Congressman Raskin, and championed by PEN America, also seeks to protect academic freedom and literary expression.
Dozens of states have passed laws that censor classroom topics and ban books, which undermines the freedom to read, free expression, open inquiry and academic freedom.
Since 2021, PEN America has been at the forefront of documenting and defending against the rise of school book bans nationwide and the spread of educational censorship that censor subjects in public school classrooms and on college campuses. The writers and free expression group has mobilized citizens to resist the censorship and the intolerance and exclusion that exists beneath the surface.
About PEN America
PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible. Learn more at pen.org.
Contact: Suzanne Trimel, [email protected], (201) 247-5057