banned books week
Censorship of books puts West Virginia students at a disadvantage
It’s tempting to think of the so-called Kanawha Textbook Wars as a relic from the past, but this Banned Books Week, we should ask ourselves just how far we’ve come since 1974. That year, pro-censorship forces descended on the Kanawha Valley to gin up outrage over multicultural textbooks in public schools. Buses were shot, the […]
First Amendment advocates fight growing number of U.S. book bans
WASHINGTON — One of Thomasina Brown’s favorite books is a memoir about a girl who deals with the grief of losing her father and struggles with her sexual identity. Brown, a 16-year-old student at Nixa High School in Nixa, Missouri, said in an interview that she felt a connection with the book, as she grieved […]
Attempts to restrict library materials increased this year, data shows
Preliminary data from the American Library Association indicates an increase in the number of attempts to ban books and library services nationwide. Oct. 1 through 7 marks Banned Book Week, which celebrates freedom to read and spotlights attempts to censor library materials. According to the American Library Association, from January through August this year, 695 […]