In the American Library Association’s 2020 list of top banned books, three included “anti-cop” content.
The banning of Black books is making the headlines again. This time, it’s because some parents are claiming all types of Black books — like picture book biographies of Civil Rights leaders — are teaching critical race theory.
The American Library Association tracks annually the most challenged and banned books of the year, along with the reasons against them. So what’s the difference between a challenge and a ban? A challenge is when someone raises a concern about a book and asks for it to be moved — from youth to the adult or restricted shelves — or removed entirely. It’s upgraded to a ban if an official restricts access to the book, like if a principal removed a book from the school library.
In 2019, for example, 66% of the challenges took place in public libraries, compared to 19% in school libraries and 12% in schools, according to the ALA. Of these challenges, 45% were initiated by patrons, 18% by parents, and 13% by a board or administration, according to ALA data.
Looking at the four books banned by Black authors, the most common reasons are having drugs or sex content, being labled anti-cop, and profanity.
Book banning has raised First Amendment concerns, says Deborah Caldwell-Stone, Director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. Removing books because of prejudices against their content, viewpoint, or author violates the right to access information.
“We’re one of the few societies where we have this incredible freedom to make our own choices … and the freedom to decide for ourselves without the government telling us what to think, telling us what to do,” Caldwell-Stone says. “We erode those liberties when we resort to censorship of others’ ideas because we don’t approve of them.”
The Top Banned Books
Word In Black created a database of the most challenged or banned books by year using the American Library Association’s Top 10 lists. The analysis covers a five-year span: 2016 to 2020, the most recent year the organization released. After studying the entries, Word In Black identified seven common reasons books were challenged or banned during the five years: gender or sexuality, using racist content like slurs or stereotypes, drugs or sex, politics, anti-police, and profanity. In the Word In Black database, the books are included in every category that went into the ban or challenge.
Across the five years Word In Black looked at, there were two top reasons that books were banned or challenged: having to do with gender or sexuality, or having drug- or sex-related content. Looking at the four books banned by Black authors, the most common reasons are having drugs or sex content, being labled anti-cop, and profanity.
There are 12 books that have been banned multiple times over the analyzed five-year period. “George” by Alex Gino, a children’s book about a transgender child, was banned every year in the 2016-2020 time period. The most banned book by a Black author is Angie Thomas’ “The Hate U Give,” which tells the story of a teen who witnesses police shooting and killing her unarmed best friend. This book has been on the top banned list every year since it was published in 2017.
The “Racial Reckoning” in 2020
Caldwell-Stone said she noticed a shift after George Floyd’s murder in 2020, which led to a nationwide uprising against racism in the United States — and increased pushback against calls for racial justice.