U.S. Book Bans Target Authors of Color and Diverse Characters

U.S. book bans target diverse authors and characters, especially women of color, raising concerns over censorship and underrepresentation in children's literature.

on Nov 13, 2024

During the 2021-22 school year, U.S. schools and libraries saw a significant rise in book bans, especially targeting children’s literature written by authors of color, particularly women of color. These banned books often featured characters of color as well. A peer-reviewed study, based on a detailed review of 2,532 book bans from 32 states, revealed that such restrictions were more prevalent in counties with a righ-leaning majority that had become less conservative over time.

The study, compiled by PEN America, examined 1,643 unique book titles and combined them with data on counties, book sales, and author demographics. It found that 59% of the banned books were children's books featuring diverse characters or nonfiction works on social movements and historical figures. Prominent titles included “Gender Queer: A Memoir” by Maia Kobabe, banned in 41 school districts, “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson, with 29 bans, and “Out of Darkness” by Ashley Hope Pérez, banned 24 times.

The study also found that authors of color were disproportionately targeted in book bans, with these authors contributing to 39% of the banned works. Women of color alone wrote nearly a quarter of the banned books, despite accounting for a small percentage of U.S. authors overall. Furthermore, while most book bans occurred in Republican-majority counties, those in which conservative majorities had diminished over time were even more likely to implement such bans.

The situation has worsened in recent years. PEN America's report for the 2022-23 school year indicated 3,362 book bans, and the number surged to over 10,000 in the 2023-24 school year, with Florida and Iowa responsible for the majority of these bans. Despite claims that book bans protect children from harmful content, there is little evidence to support this, and the bans often target books with diverse characters or LGBTQ+ themes. This poses a risk of further underrepresentation of these groups in children's literature, potentially impacting children's sense of belonging and educational outcomes, even in schools not directly affected by the bans.

Book bans, typically initiated by school boards, legislators, or prison authorities, serve as a form of censorship, but this study suggests they are also being used as political tools. The bans seem to be driven by political motives rather than concerns about the content itself. Despite little impact on national or state-level interest in the targeted books, as seen in Google searches and book sales, these bans appear to be more about rallying a shrinking political base.

This study represents one of the early efforts to investigate book bans in depth, given the lack of comprehensive data on the publishing industry. Future research could help bring together more data to better understand the trends behind these bans, with much of the data from this study made publicly available for further analysis.