Book bans are not new to the United States, but censorship efforts have become more organized, politicized and widespread in recent years.
From July to December 2023, PEN America found that more than 4,300 books were removed from schools across 23 states and 52 public districts, a number that surpasses the total of bans documented in the previous school year.
Texas and Florida continue to lead the nation in book bans, though Missouri isn’t far behind.
One of the most banned books in the United States is “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood. The Canadian author told KCUR she always knew her 1985 dystopian novel would be censored.
“But, you know, you ban a book and it has a way of going underground,” Atwood said. “So sure, it gets kicked out of schools and libraries, but that does not stop people from reading it if they go in search of it.”
Amanda Jones, an award-winning librarian and anti-censorship advocate from Livingston Parish, Louisiana, is the author of the new book “That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America.”
Jones told KCUR you can usually trace local censorship attempts back to what she called “dark money nonprofits.”
“That's a nonprofit that hides their donors behind nonprofit status. It's usually a group that pushes hate rhetoric in the name of saving the children,” she said. “You know, like Moms for Liberty.”
Atwood and Jones were in town for events at the Kansas City Public Library during Banned Books Week.
- Margaret Atwood, author
- Amanda Jones, librarian
