Each year, books and other materials that address racism, racial injustice, LGTBQ+ content, and other sensitive topics dominate the American Library Association’s Top 10 Most Challenged Books List. These stories bring people together, facilitate important conversations and aid in the development in empathy and understanding for people from other backgrounds.
About Banned Books Week
Banned Books Week was launched in the 1980s, a time of increased challenges, organized protests, and the Island Trees School District v. Pico (1982) Supreme Court case, which ruled that school officials can’t ban books in libraries simply because of their content. It is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Traditionally held during the last week of September, it spotlights current and historical attempts to censor books in libraries and schools. It brings together the entire book community — librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types — in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular. To learn more, visit https://bannedbooksweek.org/banned-books-week-2021-books-unite-us/.
Infographics and other content courtesy of the American Library Association's Office of Intellectual Freedom
