Stand up to book banners in your community
Extremist groups and politicians are attacking our kids’ education and one of the most glaring ways is banning books. These book bans are a coordinated effort happening nationwide and they’re increasing at a rapid pace. In just the last few years, PEN America recorded book bans in 42 states, with more than 4,000 instances of book bans in just the fall of 2023. But this is about much more than just those shocking numbers. This is about the people who these book bans are targeting.
Extremist groups are targeting books about history, race, and gender, and books written by authors who are Black, brown, or indigenous, LGBTQ+ people, and women. They’ve even tried to ban books about Martin Luther King, Jr., Anne Frank, and Rosa Parks!
Book banners aren’t just targeting public schools anymore. Now they’re going after libraries too. They are threatening and exhausting teachers and librarians; and they are harming children by taking away their opportunities to learn accurate history, and gain better insight and understanding about themselves, their community, and also people who are different from them. Every kid should be prepared for the 21st century, which means getting a well rounded education and respecting people whether they grew up just like them or not.
The truth is the majority of parents, students, and educators are strongly opposed to book bans. The freedom to read is essential. Want to get involved and stand up to book banners in your community? Sign up to be a part of our Freedom to Parent movement and become a Book Ban Buster too!
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What We Are Reading Next:
Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy
March 26, 2025, 7:30 – 9pm ET
Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy is a New York Times Bestseller that tells four stories about women who played unconventional roles in the U.S. Civil War. Since it was published in 2015, it has been banned in several school districts, most notably in Friso, TX, due to sexual content. Join us – and author Abbott Kahler – to discuss the book!
Braiding Sweetgrass
May 7, 2025, 7:30 – 9pm ET
Braiding Sweetgrass is the amazing nonfiction book by botanist, author, and citizen of the Potawatomi Nation, Robin Wall Kimmerer. In this book, she explores and celebrates our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. Braiding Sweetgrass touches on issues relating to colonialism, environmentalism, and climate change.
A Queer History of the United States
June 11, 2025, 7:30 – 9pm ET
Published in 2011, A Queer History of the United States is extremely comprehensive – beginning in 1492 all the way up to the modern era. It has been banned and challenged for covering LGBTQ+ topics. The author, Michael Bronski, is a professor in the Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality department at Harvard University and will be joining us for the event.
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
July 23, 2025, 7:30 – 9pm ET
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness is a groundbreaking account of the modern criminal justice system and how it has created a new caste-like system that has resulted in the imprisonment of millions of Black Americans and making them second-class citizens. This book has been banned in prison systems in North Carolina and New Jersey and later allowed after the ACLU protested the bans.
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
September 10, 2025, 7:30 – 9pm ET
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sanchez is a 2017 National Book Awards finalist about a Mexican-American girl growing up in Chicago, coming to terms with the loss of her sister and navigating the expectations of her family. Sanchez’s book has been banned or challenged in several states including Florida, North Carolina, Oregon, Utah, and Texas.
The Girl Who Fell from the Sky
October 15, 2025, 7:30 – 9pm ET
The Girl Who Fell from the Sky tells the story of Rachel, a biracial girl who is the sole survivor of a family tragedy and then goes to live with her grandmother. Durrow’s book is a winner of the Bellwether Prize for best fiction manuscript addressing issues of racism and classism. Parent’s in a Utah school districts attempted to have Durrow’s book banned for including sexual content and sexual violence.
The Best We Could Do
November 19, 2025, 7:30 – 9pm ET
The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui is an illustrated memoir describing the experience of the author’s parents living in Vietnam before and during the Vietnam War, and then their escape to the United States as refugees when Bui was just a child. It was targeted for banning in a California public library system with the reason given that it was not suitable for people under 18.
The House of the Spirits
December 10, 2025, 7:30 – 9pm ET
The House of the Spirits is the first novel by world-renowned author, Isabel Allende. The novel is a family saga that spans three generations of a Chilean family living through a turbulent time. The book uses magical realism to explore political and social issues. Parents in North Carolina and California have attempted to have Allende’s book removed from school curriculum because they felt it was too graphic.
So who exactly is behind all these book bans?
One key player is Moms for Liberty, an extremist right-wing group who are trying to stop schools from teaching accurate history and who are targeting transgender kids and their families with political attacks. Click here to learn more about what they’re doing and why they do NOT speak for us!
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