September 27th to October 3rd of 2020 is Banned Books Week. Banned Books Week is an awareness campaign promoted by The American Library Association (ALA) and Amnesty International. These organizations help to highlight our personal freedoms of expression and take time to focus on banned or challenged books and the people that are persecuted for their expression.
Despite the name, Banned Books Week does not only focus on books. It brings awareness to persecuted authors, journalists, poets, filmmakers, bloggers, musicians and many more. Amnesty International offers many great resources to read about the people whose rights are under attack because of their work, and ways that you can help.
According to the ALA, 416 books were either challenged or banned in 2017 alone, and scarily enough, it is estimated that 82-97% of challenged books go unreported. 80% of those 416 challenged books spoke on topics regarding marginalized groups of people. If you take away materials that address tough subject matter, you take away the opportunity for people to address those tough subjects and work to find a better solution. It is important that we allow access to these seemingly “controversial” books because they spark conversations—conversations like what is moral or immoral and how to make a difference.
Additionally, from 566 targeted books, the top ten most challenged books from 2019 range from books that speak on LGBTQIA+ issues like I Am Jazz by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings, to The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood for “vulgarity and sexual overtones” and to Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling for discussion of witchcraft and magic. The banning and challenging of all these different works is an unwelcomed attempt to shape the way we as people interpret the world.