Banned: Silenced Stories of the Marginalized

SOME 1,597 BOOKS HAVE BEEN CHALLENGED OR removed from libraries over the past year, according to the latest figures from the American Library Association (ALA)—the highest number since the organization began keeping track 20 years ago. Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, says, “We’re seeing an unprecedented volume of challenges since last September, honing in on books that deal with the experiences of Black persons and LGBTQIA persons.”

Also unprecedented: Books like George M. Johnson’s memoir about growing up Black and queer, (published in 2020), and (2021) by Nikole Hannah-Jones and are not only facing removal from schools this year, but legal opposition as well. Several states including Florida,