(14 Nov 2024) Book bans are increasingly becoming common in US schools. In the 2022-23 school year, PEN America reported 3,362 book bans, affecting 1,557 unique titles. And its latest data, released Nov. 1, 2024, shows that the number of book bans soared in the 2023-24 school year to more than 10,000, with Florida and Iowa accounting for over 8,000 of them. Thousands of titles are from authors of color, especially women and the protagonist being a person of color.
Pen America found the following points in their report.
- 44% include themes or instances of violence & physical abuse.
- 38% cover topics on health and wellbeing for students.
- 30% are books that include instances or themes of grief and death.
- 30% include characters of colour or discuss race and racism
- 26% present LGBTQ+ characters or themes.
- 24% detail sexual experiences between characters
- 17% of books mention teen pregnancy, abortion, or sexual assault
Find out more here.
