There’s a trend sweeping across our country: banning books. Of course, challenging books is nothing new. You can visit the American Library Association (ALA) website and find titles of books that have been banned or challenged over the years. However, in 2021, books were challenged at a rate not seen for decades.
A rise in book challenges
According to a late November 2021 article from The Guardian (“US libraries report spike in organzised attempts to ban books in schools”), the ALA is reporting an “unprecedented rise” in attempts to get books removed from libraries.
ALA executive director Deborah Caldwell-Stone told The Guardian, “It’s a volume of challenges I’ve never seen in my time at the ALA – the last 20 years.” The Guardian reported that the ALA thinks viral posts on social media and conservative organizations are encouraging groups to get books removed from libraries, especially books dealing with LBGTQ issues or themes of racism.
A school board member from a district in my own state of Virginia recently suggested that books with controversial material should be burned!
This trend is concerning, but last week, a comic book store in Knoxville, TN fought back. (Shout out to my sister in law Julie for sharing this with me!)
A fight against book banning
Recently, the McMinn County School District in Tennessee banned the graphic novel Maus by Art Spiegleman because it contained strong language and graphic depictions of the Holocaust. In response, Nirvana Comics in Knoxville pledged to give a free copy to any student who wants to learn more about the Holocaust. As of January 31, 2022 the store had raised over $83, 000 for this project.
Maus, a graphic novel, tells the story of a man and his family (depicted as mice). They watch the Nazis (drawn as cats) rise to power, invade Poland, and send Jews to concentration camps. Spiegleman based Maus on interviews with his father, who survived Auschwitz. Maus won a Pulitzer Prize in 1992. The Wall Street Journal called it “the most affecting and successful narrative ever done about the Holocaust.”
I understand explicit material might concern parents, but most books present that material in a deeper context that provides insight and information relevant to students. Through difficult but important books like The Kite Runner, The Bluest Eye, and Maus, students can learn about, and importantly, understand more about, historical events. They can also gain better appreciation for people from different backgrounds and cultures.
I’m a Word Nerd and a book lover, and my children have ready access to books in our home on everything from racism to Russian history to the Civil War. However, not every child has books so readily available. Schools are often the best place for students to explore, question, and broaden their understanding of the world. We should not limit education.
There are two interesting ironies here. First, the Nazis notoriously used their power to suppress independent thought by banning and burning books. Is that what we want to imitate in 21st century America? Second, the same groups that are staunchly defending their freedom to bear arms and not wear masks are the often the same ones demanding that students and parents NOT have the freedom to choose books for themselves.
It doesn’t sit right with me. And thankfully, it doesn’t sit right with Nirvana Comics. And they are doing something about it.
What ways have you seen books stories, schools, or communities fighting back against book banning?
Thanks for getting nerdy with me!
