Book banning has increased across the country in recent years, according to data from two organizations dedicated to advocacy against censorship, but the practice of book banning in the United States dates back to the 1600s.
The first knownbanned book was Thomas Morton’s “New English Canaan,” a book published in 1637 that was banned by the Puritan government for its criticisms of their customs, according to a research guide from Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Gutman Library. Outright bans enacted by the American government continued in the 1870s with the federal Comstock Act, which banned the distribution of writings that were “obscene, lewd, or lascivious” on the grounds of ensuring public morality.
Today, book banning typically refers to the practice of removing or limiting access to materials from school or public libraries.
Between 2022 and 2023, the American Library Association (ALA), a nonprofit that promotes the value of the library and librarians to the public, reported a 65% increase in the number of titles that were challenged for removal, marking a record high ever documented by the association.
The trend has continued. From January to August 2024, the ALAtracked 414 attempts to limit access to more than 1,000 unique titles. PEN America, a nonprofit organization dedicated to free expression, meanwhile, reported more than 10,000 instances of book bans for the 2023-2024 school year.
What happens when a book is banned?
Book banning doesn’t involve making materials completely unavailable for public consumption. Court cases have held that the First Amendment protects a “right to receive information.”
“When we’re saying that a book is being challenged in a community, and if the decision is made by the board to remove it, then they’re saying that that’s a ban on accessing that material through that library. But that doesn’t mean that that’s the only way that someone can access information,” ALA President Cindy Hohlsays.
According to the ALA, a book ban occurs when material is removed from a library after a person or group objects to it. A ban is often initiated by a challenge, which refers to the attempt to remove it from public access.
PEN America takes a broader approach, defining a school book ban as any action that results in access to a book being “restricted or diminished, either temporarily or permanently.”
What both organizations share is the goal of tracking where access to books is being disrupted — a task that’s easier said than done.
“We rely upon libraries and library professionals to report these matters directly to ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom,” Hohl says. “So we believe that there is a matter of under-reporting because many of the book challenges aren’t even submitted to us or covered by the press.
We continue to see this trend where (book bans are) specifically targeting Black, Indigenous, people of color, whether it’s the author themselves, or it’s the characters in the storyline… Who has the right to decide whose voice should have a place in American literature?
cindy hohl
“When we look at the data that’s compiled, it really only represents a snapshot of book censorship attempts,” she adds.
What the available data does show is that book banning disproportionately affects Black and Indigenous writers and authors of color, as well as authors from the LGBTQ+ community, Hohl says.
Ranging from classics, including to works of James Baldwin and Toni Morrison, to modern young adult books like “The Hate U Give” and “The Poet X,” books by Black authors have been impacted by bans for decades.
The censorship of diverse voices can also come about by individual people’s choices — for example, unilateral censorship by a library worker, which the ALA defines as a librarian excluding materials for display or purchase “without consulting anyone.”
Quartez Harris is the the author of “Go Tell It,” an illustrated biography of James Baldwin, whose works have been repeatedly banned across the U.S. He’s also a former second-grade teacher. During his time as a teacher, while books weren’t explicitly banned at his school, he says he witnessed what he calls “quiet banning,” or indirectly keeping books from readers.
“A lot of teachers didn’t really feature books that reflected our students’ lived experiences. We were a predominantly Black school, but a lot of the literature did not depict our demographic,” Harris says.
Book banning has also become just one part of “more extreme” attempts at censorship, Sonya Douglass, a professor at Teachers College, Columbia University, says. Classrooms around the country face challenges on what they can teach and the terminology used, she says. In 2021, school districts across the country faced battles over what can be taught about race and gender. Nine states enacted laws limiting instruction of critical race theory — a framework that looks at how racism is systemic — that year, per NBC News.
“(Book banning is) now, I think, even being overshadowed by a lot of the efforts to just limit the opportunity to teach about race, racism and the truth of American racism,” Douglass says.
A lot of teachers didn’t really feature books that reflected my our students lived experiences. We were a predominantly Black school, but a lot of the literature did not depict our demographic.”
Quartez Harris
Jewell Parker Rhodes, whose book “Ghost Boys” has faced bans, says the experience been triggering.
“I have trauma from the banned books themselves,” Rhodes says. “I’ve been teaching African-American literature for decades… When you lose the voice of the African-American literature, you lose the voice of African American people.”
To push back against censorship, Harris encourages readers to “challenge these baseless claims that books are harmful. Books make people better.”
Here are banned books by Black authors across genres to celebrate Black History Month all year-round.
Classics
‘The Color Purple’ by Alice Walker
Alice Walker’s 1982 epistolary novel tells the story of a young Black woman named Celie through the letters she writes to God about her experiences in early 1900s Georgia. “The Color Purple” has consistently made the American Library Association’s list of most frequently challenged books, coming in at No. 17 for the 2000-2009 list and No. 50 for 2010-2019, primarily for its sexual and racial content.
Walker, now 81, spoke about attempts to censor “The Color Purple” in a 2012 interview with Guernica magazine and said, “I remember feeling, and understanding, the fear that drove some parents in the schools to wish to ban ‘The Color Purple.'”
“Many people of course condemned ‘The Color Purple’ unread. Some read the first five pages and decided they were doing society a service by silencing the voice of a 14-year-old uneducated Black girl whose only language was what she’d heard in her community, where people rarely spoke in euphemisms,” she continued.
‘The Bluest Eye’ by Toni Morrison
Toni Morrison is another author whose work often makes the ALA’s list of frequently challenged books, including her classic titles “The Bluest Eye” (the No. 10 most frequently challenged book of 2010-2019) and “Beloved” (No. 26 on the same list). “The Bluest Eye,” which follows a young traumatized girl who wishes to have “blue eyes,” has been banned for its depiction of child abuse and focus on racism. “Beloved,” about a family of formerly enslaved people who are being haunted, has also been banned for its violent content. Morrison edited a 2009 anthology of essays about censorship called “Burn this Book” and wrote, “Fear of unmonitored writing is justified — because truth is trouble.”
Andrea Davis Pinkney, the author of children’s books like “The Red Pencil” and “Sit-In,” also worked with Morrison to edit her children’s books. Pinkney says Morrison taught that times of “dread” is “the exact moment that artists need to get to work.”
“This is the moment where we get on the path, we stay in the work, and we tell the stories, because that’s what’s gonna endure at the end of the day. That’s what will last,” she says of Morrison’s wisdom. “And you can’t ban that.”
‘Native Son’ by Richard Wright
Richard Wright’s “Native Son” follows Bigger Thomas and the catastrophic chain of events that occur after he accidentally kills a white woman. While “Native Son” does not make light of Bigger’s crimes, some of the book’s wider themes explore the effects systemic racism may have had and the hypocrisy of the justice system. Although Wright’s work is considered one of the greatest novels of the 20th century, it has been banned in multiple school districts for language, sexual content and violence.
‘Go Tell It On the Mountain’ by James Baldwin
James Baldwin’s “Go Tell It On the Mountain” is about a teenager’s complex family dynamics and his relationship with the Pentecostal Church. The book has been banned at least twice for its profanity and sexual content, according to PEN America.
Quartez Harris, the author of “Go Tell It,” a picture book biography of Baldwin that came out in January 2025, tells TODAY.com that reading the work of Baldwin allows readers to “connect with other people’s pain — his pain and the world’s pain.”
“He used language to figure out what was happening to him and what was happening in the world,” Harris says.
“We’re able to process our lived experiences through his work, but if we’re censoring his work, if we’re sanctioning his work, then you’re limiting people from feeling celebrating, feeling seen, feeling validated, feeling liberated,” he adds. “And that’s a deep concern.”
‘Invisible Man’ by Ralph Ellison
Ralph Ellison’s 1952 novel “Invisible Man” follows an unnamed Black man struggling with his identity in a world that sees him through a variety of predetermined lenses. It chronicles his teenage years to adulthood and the ways racism renders him “invisible.”
In 2013, “Invisible Man” was banned from school libraries in a North Carolina county after a parent complained of its language, sexual content and “lack of innocence,” per the Los Angeles Times.
‘Their Eyes Were Watching God’ by Zora Neale Hurston
“Their Eyes Were Watching God” is a classic novel of the Harlem Renaissance. It follows a young woman through her journey of finding love, stability and independence and asserting her own dignity amid a traumatic family history. “Their Eyes Were Watching God” was banned in the ’90s in Virginia for its language and sexual content.
Children’s and young adult books
‘The Hate U Give’ by Angie Thomas
Angie Thomas’ 2017 young adult novel “The Hate U Give” follows a 16-year-old Black girl who witnesses her friend’s death at the hands of a police officer. As she bends toward activism, it causes tension at her predominately white school. The book has been banned for its depiction of police and references to drugs and sex. “The Hate U Give” was adapted into a movie in 2018.
Thomas spoke about book banning on a panel alongside George M. Johnson during the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books in 2023. “We weren’t writing to have a political agenda,” Thomas said. “We were writing about experiences. We were writing about real people. I’ve had 16-year-old white, rural Americans tell me, ‘I didn’t know any Black people. But this book helps me to learn things that Black people have gone through.’”
‘My Princess Boy’by Cheryl Kilodavis
“My Princess Boy” is a children’s picture book that published in 2009. The book is about a young boy who chooses to wear traditionally “girly” attire and receives support from his family. The picture book has faced several challenges on the grounds of its depiction of gender expression. In 2022, it was banned pending investigation in a Florida school district, per PEN America.
‘The Poet X’ by Elizabeth Acevedo
“The Poet X” is a coming of age novel-in-verse written by Elizabeth Acevedo. It follows Xiomara, or X, as she utilizes slam poetry to express her conflicting feelings on her religion, her sexuality and her place in the world as an Afro-Latina teen. Acevedo’s book was challenged because Xiomara dared to question her religion, thus deeming it “anti-Christian.” It was also challenged for containing content relating to sexuality and race.
Speaking to high school students in Washington, D.C. in January 2024, Acevedo said, per the American Federation of Teachers’ website, “We’re not talking themes. We’re talking about people who exist in the world. We’re talking about characters who exist; we are people. They’re not banning these books to protect y’all, because oftentimes these books are about y’all. They’re banning these books because they’re saying, ‘We don’t want certain demographics of kids to know that other kinds of young people exist and that within their community, other kinds of people exist.'”
‘Monster’ by Walter Dean Myers
“Monster” is a 1999 young adult novel about a 16-year-old on trial for murder. Written like a screenplay, the book interweaves the events of the trial with the protagonist’s journal entries and memories of what happened. The book explores choices, racial discrimination and more, and it has been banned for its violence, language and mature content.
‘Brown Girl Dreaming’ by Jacqueline Woodson
“Brown Girl Dreaming” is a memoir written for teens about author Jacqueline Woodson’s experience growing up across the US in the late 1960s. The book, which is written in verse, explores Woodson’s upbringing in the context of religion, the Civil Rights movement, the culture of the South and more. The author told Lit Hub her book was on banned book lists in Florida and Texas.
“To come into this art, wanting to create stories that were not there when I was a young person and wanting no other young person to feel themselves invisible in this world? The attempt at erasure is heartbreaking to me. It’s not even about me, it’s about the young people that don’t get to see themselves,” Woodson told Lit Hub in December 2024.
‘Ghost Boys’ by Jewell Parker Rhodes
“Ghost Boys,” Jewell Parker Rhodes’ 2018 middle-grade novel, follows a young Black student, Jerome, who is shot by a white policeman who mistook a play gun for a weapon. Jerome returns in the story as a ghost and meets other “ghost boys,” including Emmett Till. The book was temporarily banned in Florida for its depiction of police.
Rhodes says she wrote “Ghost Boys” while “loving” all her characters, including the policeman. She says her goal is to spark discussions over if unconscious bias or racism was an aspect of the shooting.
Rhodes, whose latest book, “Will’s Race For Home,” published in January 2025, says, “When you have books banned from a classroom, it’s like saying you want to render all the kids of color invisible. That their experiences aren’t worth talking about.”
Nonfiction
‘The Autobiography of Malcolm X’ by Malcolm X and Alex Haley
“The Autobiography of Malcolm X” published in 1965, shortly after Malcolm X was assassinated. The book was the product of interviews between Alex Haley and the civil rights activist and took a deep dive on Malcolm X’s philosophies. The book has faced calls for bans for years, dating back to 1993, for its discussion of race relations. Another work by Haley, “Roots: The Saga of An American Family,” was also notably banned for the first time during the 2023-24 school year, according to PEN America.
‘The New Jim Crow’ by Michelle Alexander
“The New Jim Crow” is a 2010 nonfiction book about racial discrimination and mass incarceration, comparing the latter to a modern “Jim Crow” system. Key points involve analyzing enforcement of the War of Drugs and the disproportionate rates of imprisonment among Black men. In 2018, “The New Jim Crow” was banned in prisons in New Jersey, per the ACLU.
‘Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents’ by Isabel Wilkerson
“Caste” by journalist Isabel Wilkerson argues that racism in the US is an example of a caste system and dives into the consequences of it. The book inspired the film “Origin,” which stars Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor as Wilkerson and follows the research process for the book. “Caste” faced a ban in Texas, and, according to a 2022 report from the Washington Post, the book “mysteriously vanished” from shelves.
Speaking with Oprah Daily in 2023, Wilkerson said, “These bans only affirm the forewarnings in the book. We’re in a period of backlash and retrenchment, which the book attests to and foreshadows. The only thing I can do is to keep pressing forward in my work, knowing that we can’t run from history and that the truth will win out in the end.”
‘Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You’ by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
Ibram X. Kendi’s “Stamped” is a nonfiction book that explores how anti-Black racist ideas were conceived and became rooted in America’s history. “Stamped” has produced multiple children’s “remixes,” a graphic novel, and a Netflix documentary. In 2020, the “remix,” “Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You,” was named the second-most challenged book by the ALA. The book was banned and challenged because of the author’s “public statements, claims that the book contains ‘selective storytelling incidents,’ and does not encompass racism against all people.”
“Book bans aim to suppress critical thinking, suppress the factual record, suppress the historical record, suppress a multiplicity of experiences and perspectives, and suppress our recognition of racism, sexism, homophobia, and other forms of bigotry,” Kendi has said, according to a 2024 news release from PEN America. “By challenging these bans, we’re not just defending books—we’re defending against well-funded and well-organized efforts to control our minds. Censorship is about control. I am not about to let anyone control my mind or yours.”
Memoirs, essay collections and poetry
‘The Hill We Climb’ by Amanda Gorman
Amanda Gorman’s poem “The Hill We Climb” made waves after she read it aloud at Joe Biden’s inauguration in January 2021. The poem was restricted — meaning access to the poem was limited — in 2023 at a school in Florida after a parent complaint.
“These books that are being banned predominantly feature authors and characters of color, authors and characters of the LGBTQ community, and so we’re seeing entire identities erased from bookshelves. And when a child can’t see themselves represented in a story, they can’t dream of their own life, to actualize their own hopes,” Gorman said on “Meet the Press” in February, during an interview about her new book, “Girls on the Rise.”
‘All Boys Aren’t Blue’ by George M. Johnson
In “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” a debut young adult memoir-manifesto, George M. Johnson chronicles their coming of age as a queer Black child through a series of essays. Johnson’s book serves as an exploration of Johnson’s identity, while encouraging readers to find their own truth. Because Johnson’s book was deemed sexually explicit and has LGBTQ+ themes, it’s currently one of the most banned books in the country.
At the 2023 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, Johnson said they believe efforts to ban books stem from fear of Gen Z-led change and that they plan to keep creating.
“My philosophy has been, ‘Well they can’t ban all the damn books,’” Johnson said. “So I keep writing.”
‘The 1619 Project’ by Nikole Hannah-Jones
“The 1619 Project” is an anthology of essays, poems and more based on a 2019 special edition of the New York Times created by Nikole Hannah-Jones. The project aims to re-contextualize American history with the beginning of slavery and how it is “foundational” to present society, as she told Stephen Colbert while appearing on “The Late Show” in 2022. The project won Hannah-Jones the Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 2020 and led to a Hulu docuseries, podcast and picture book.
The project sparked immediate discussion over the “true founding” of America, and Hannah-Jones’ work has faced several bans in school systems, including the prohibition of it from curricula.
“No matter how you feel about it, a free society doesn’t ban books,” Hannah-Jones said on “The Late Show.” “A free society does not do that.”
‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings’ by Maya Angelou
“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” is Maya Angelou’s autobiography, following her childhood and formative years. The arc of the story follows Angelou from experiencing racism and trauma to asserting her own dignity and becoming a mother. “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” has been banned because of its depictions of sexual assault, for being “anti-white” and for “encouraging homosexuality,” according to the ALA.
‘Hood Feminism’ by Mikki Kendall
