PEN America report on Book Banning
it's not good.
As predicted, The Rockingham County School Board did approve retention of Under the Moon : A Catwoman Tale by Lauren Myracle. The content review committee recommended retention, and it was an unusual 5-0 vote to agree with them. Because of the way these book bans were handled, there is no evidence of who created the complaint, or what the complaint was about. However, this one had not come to the attention of Booklooks, the Moms for Liberty database of page numbers and with naughty words, shared salaciously out of context. Children essentially were denied access to this book and others for no reason.
In case you are joining late, School Board member Hollie Cave produced a list of books at the first School Board meeting after the new Board was sworn in and they immediately voted that all 57 books on her list would be immediately removed while they developed a policy, which they adopted in late April. 28 other books currently also banned by an anonymous complaint are awaiting their turn through the Content Review Committee to examine if they have sexually explicit content as defined by the Board using an exceptionally narrow definition. The Board has retained 11 books after keeping them off the shelves for months, and permanently banned another 11. They also banned 4 that were not in Rockingham County libraries. Current status of all of the books on that list is available here.
Meanwhile. PEN America has released its report on book bans in the 2023-24 school year, and the figures are staggering. 10,046 books were banned — over 4000 unique titles. It’s a comprehensive report, and well worth reading.
But here’s my initial takes:
That’s a lot of books. But the scary thing is it doesn’t include the books that have been previously banned in the last 3 years.
Shift in banning has been to young adult books. This population is being denied access to information they need to navigate their world.
57% included sex or sex-related topics and content
44% included characters or people of color
39% included LGBTQ+ characters or people
Picture books and books for middle grade kids are not showing up on the banned list as much, probably because they are already banned or not being purchased out of fear of a challenge.
Studies show the self censorship is getting worse. Authors are being shadow banned where librarians are afraid to purchase their books, and author visits are being limited.
Rockingham County has banned all 5 of the top 19 most banned books. They’ve voted to retain two books (The Kite Runner and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian). Three others, all by Ellen Hopkins, and Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye are currently banned awaiting their time of judgement. Sarah Maas’ Court of Mist and Fury has also been removed.
Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
Looking for Alaska by John Green
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Sold by Patricia McCormick
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Crank by Ellen Hopkins
Identical by Ellen Hopkins
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Tricks by Ellen Hopkins
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas
Several states reported more than 100 book bans - Florida, Iowa, Texas, Wisconsin, Kentucky, AND Virginia with 121. Somewhere I read that Hanover is leading Virginia in book banning, but Rockingham County is following Hanover’s lead in their policies and practices, and are contributing substantially to the excessive number. Republican leadership is a common factor.
Tomorrow is Election Day, and I hope you are planning to vote or have already voted. I voted early because tomorrow I’ll be serving as an Election Officer in Rockingham County. I voted a straight Democratic ticket. Rockingham County Republicans brought us this disaster of a School Board, and their candidates up and down the line are a danger to women, to people of color, to LGBTQ people, especially transgender people, the environment, to our health, our education system, and to freedom of information.
If by some chance you are still undecided, check out PEN America’s report on the effects of Project 2025 on education and freedom of information. Project 2025 is essentially the Republican blueprint for policy if they win the Presidency.
I will confess to being nauseously optimistic … but scared. I’ll leave you with an image of beauty because that’s how I keep from screaming, and I encourage you to acknowledge the bad, but focus on what’s good.
News coverage:
Daily News Record: Student says Rockingham County’s cell phone policy is too strict
Harrisonburg Citizen: School expansions, renovations and a possible new elementary school top county’s wish list