Maryland is Not Immune to Book Banning
When the status quo is shaken, we can expect resistance and backlash. The call to remove books from school and library shelves has reached Maryland.
Book Challenge in Carroll County
In August, the Carroll County Public School District temporarily removed over 50 challenged books from school libraries. This was done in compliance with district policy, which states that books can be removed from the school’s media collection pending adjudication of challenges. This month, the school board’s re-consideration committee will start to review books with opportunities for the public to weigh in on whether they should return to school shelves.
Like many of the book challenges and bans across the country, the challenge in Carroll County takes aim at books by and about people of color and the LGBTQ+ community. It’s no coincidence that the rise in book challenges and bans is taking place alongside an increase in the number of children’s books published each year with people of color and LGBTQ+ representation.
Diversity in Children’s Literature
Between 1994 and 2022, data from the Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC) reveals that the number of children’s books published featuring racially and ethnically diverse characters increased from 10% to 46%. Furthermore, 40% of these books were created by people of color. The CCBC documents similar trends for books that represent the experiences and culture of the LGBTQ+ and disability communities. This renaissance for diverse literature is the result of decades, some would say centuries, of advocacy, protest, and pain endured by creatives and readers who were erased and unseen in books.
From 2021-2023, the number of books challenged or banned across the country increased from 729 book challenges reported in 2021 to a record 3,923 unique titles challenged in 2023 according to the American Library Association (ALA). In Maryland, the number of titles challenged increased from 22 in 2021 to 82 in 2022, with a decline to 66 in 2023, according to data collected by the ALA.
Rather than take away books that embody diversity, let’s consider the multiple perspectives that exist in children’s literature past and present.
A Mom’s Perspective
As a mother, I want my family to be served well by our local libraries and schools. When my son was in fifth grade, I expressed my own concerns about a Newbery Award-winning title he was required to read. The book dealt with issues of race and class in a way that I found problematic and outdated. I didn’t ask that it be banned or removed from the summer reading list, but I hoped for an explanation of how the book would be discussed. I suggested books for the school to consider that presented alternative perspectives, and more contemporary insights about race and class.
The school leaders responded, and I felt heard. More importantly, I was able to see the range of books he would read through middle school. My husband engaged our son in conversations about what he was assigned. It’s too easy to take the position of banning books that touch on topics that make us uncomfortable or emotional.
Impact of Book Bans
Book bans criminalize creativity. Given the demographics of the books targeted for banning, book bans threaten to erase the stories of people of color and LGBTQ+ communities. My fear is that if you ban and erase the stories, you are signaling to me and my children that we do not belong because of our race. This is not an irrational fear. Targeting books and education is a tactic repeatedly used to persecute people of color and the LGBTQ+ community. The book challenges in Carroll County bring the issue closer to home proving that Maryland is not immune to censorship.
Banned Book Week 2023
Banned Book Week is October 1-7. For more than 40 years, this annual event has created a platform for shared support of the freedom to seek and express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular. The theme this year is Let Freedom Read! For Banned Book Week and throughout the year, I will join with Maryland teachers and librarians to advocate to keep books on the shelves and expand funding for libraries. We need book drives, not book bans. Now is not the time to remain silent.