Report: Schools Banned Books 2,532 Times Since 2021

Dear Readers,

An unprecedented trend escalated this year with the help of parent groups and political actions. Over 2,500 book bans were enacted, affecting 1,648 unique titles by more than 130 school districts across 30-plus states, according to an analysis published Monday by PEN America. The most banned titles include the groundbreaking work of Nobel laureate Toni Morrison.  I wanted to send you the link to the report, which offers a comprehensive look at bans, a list of titles and authors, and the organizations/politicians behind it. I hope you have time to read it.

Ayo

BANNED IN THE USA: The Growing Movement to Censor Books in School

More books banned.

More districts.

More states.

More students losing access to literature.

“More” is the operative word for this report on school book bans, which offers the first comprehensive look at bans throughout the 2021–22 school year.  This report offers an update on the count in PEN America’s previous report, Banned in the USA: Rising School Book Bans Threaten Free Expression and Students’ First Amendment Rights (April 2022), which covered the first nine months of the school year (July 2021 to March 2022). It also sheds light on the role of organized efforts to drive many of the bans.

Read here: https://pen.org/report/banned-usa-growing-movement-to-censor-books-in-schools/

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Ayo Sekai, Ph.D.

Dr. Ayo Sekai is a Political Science Ph.D. Howard University alum, a member of Pi Sigma Alpha Honor Society, YALE- Bouchet Graduate Honor Society, Golden Key International Honor Society, Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, and a published author. She is a Poetical Scientist and Linguistic Activist. You can find her work on YouTube and her website at www.AyoSekai.com. In her book, Afrocentric Before Afrocentricity (2016), renowned philosopher Molefi Kete Asante counted Ayo among the great Griots and “royal panoply which includes Haki Madhubuti, Nikki Giovanni, Mari Evans, Sonya Sanchez, and Langston Hughes” (Sekai & Rosier, 2016).

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