This post will explore what’s being banned today in schools, and what the most common justifications are for it. I will be discussing literature, sex education, and critical race theory. 

Literature

Here is the American Library Association’s list of most banned books in 2022: Link

If you take a cursory glance at the titles and reasons for banning, you’ll start to see a theme. All of them have bans for being sexually explicit, most of them contain LGBTQ+ content, and many of them have BIPOC protagonists. This interactive map documents the bans per state in 2022 and provides examples of other media that challengers have attempted to censor. On a list of common reasons for book censorship, topics include racial issues, encouragement of “damaging” lifestyles (cohabitation without marriage, homosexuality, etc), “blasphemous” dialogue, sexual situations/dialogue/education, and age inappropriateness (Butler University).

In addition to the number of bans increasing, the ALA documents that, “…in 2022, 90% of reported book challenges were demands to censor multiple titles – and of those demands to censor library books, 40% sought to remove or restrict more than 100 books all at once.” This is concerning because it indicates a mass effort to censor literature that contains a diversity of perspectives and representation. This means that students who are part of marginalized groups may feel isolated and lack a sense of belonging, and it can also foster intolerance among other students who see these titles being removed.

Sexuality Education

Education on sexuality has long been contested. This was even more of a concern in the 1990s, where there were efforts to remove sex ed. from schools entirely, but there is still a lack of comprehensive education on sex and health. According to Planned Parenthood, today, 39 states and the District of Columbia require that HIV and/or sex education is covered in school, but they are not required to provide medically accurate information and often stress abstinence instead of teaching about these topics.

Lawmakers are often the ones who decide how sexual education is taught in schools rather than instructors or schools. This means that they have the power not to mandate the teaching of certain topics or to ban them altogether. For example, “While 37 states have laws requiring that abstinence is included in sex education, only 18 states require educators to also share information about birth control” (Planned Parenthood). Especially in a post Roe v. Wade nation, not discussing birth control, contraception, and abortion is censorship by omission and could have dangerous ramifications for young people. Additionally, “Six southern states either prohibit sex educators from discussing (or even answering questions about) LGBTQ+ identities and relationships, or actually require sex educators to frame LGBTQ+ identities and relationships negatively.” These laws actively stigmatize LGBTQ+ youth and put them at greater risk for STIs, unwanted pregnancy, and unhealthy or abusive relationships. 

Critical race theory

Critical race theory was developed in the 1980s, but only gained the attention of conservatives recently. After the murder of George Floyd in 2020, the United States faced a “racial reckoning”. In September of that year, Christopher Rufo did an interview on Fox News with Tucker Carlson condemning Critical Race Theory. A few days later, President Trump released a memo warning against CRT being taught in schools, causing a nationwide panic. As of February 2022, 36 states have placed restrictions on how race and racism are taught in schools.

However, CRT has been grossly misconstrued. According to Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, law professor and pioneer of critical race theory, “It is a way of seeing, attending to, accounting for, tracing and analyzing…the ways that racial inequality is facilitated, and the ways that our history has created these inequalities.” CRT was not created for the purpose of making white people ashamed of their history, it is based on analyzing racial inequality through a critical lens and bringing attention to the ways in which American society was founded on racism. The panic that has accompanied it is a deliberate effort to censor Black history. It is important to note that despite the conservative fixation on CRT, only the North Dakota and Idaho bills directly mentioned it. The rest focus on banning “ the discussion, training, and/or orientation that the U.S. is inherently racist as well as any discussions about conscious and unconscious bias, privilege, discrimination, and oppression” (Ray & Gibbons). This actively works against teaching about racial equity, meaning that students without this education will not have a strong understanding of the history of race in America and may be more likely to internalize bigotry due to ignorance. Instead, their education will be coming from those who have grown up with inaccurate views shaped by revisionist narratives popularized by the United Daughters of the Confederacy. The attacks on Critical Race Theory are so insidious because they attempt to erase Black history and culture and elevate whiteness once again. 

Overall Thoughts

It is important to know what is being censored, because it gives us an idea of what values the censoring parties are trying to uphold. From the examples given, it is obvious that they are driven by fear and a need to maintain the status quo by erasing marginalized groups and denying their rights and humanity. Next week, I will examine how this kind of censorship plays a larger role in political movements, and how it can be a gateway into fascist dictatorship.