PEN America is an organization that represents authors and defends freedom of expression, here and elsewhere in the world. I am proud to be a member. I support their belief in the freedom to write and the freedom to read.
PEN has closely followed the recent upsurge in book banning and has kept a list of books that have been attacked and removed from school libraries and public libraries. The American Library Association also maintains a list of banned books and highlights the books most frequently banned. The ALA lists the 10 most challenged books and the 100 most challenged books.
The overwhelming number of banned books deal with race and gender. The censors apparently think that no one will learn about race or gender if no books are available.
They forget about the Internet and television, which they can’t censor.
The only book, to my knowledge, that has been specifically banned by state legislation, is The 1619 Project. That’s a shame because it is enormously informative about the history of racism.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Some of the banned books are classics, and others are award winning books. Censorship denies students the opportunity to see the world from different perspectives, which I believe, is part of growing up to be an empathetic human being. Class discussions are a way to encourage students to critically think and understand unfamiliar topics and experiences. This is how students learn and develop, and this is what the right wing fears.
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yes, that’s the key problem for the book banning community: “different perspectives”
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Banning books that have yet to
nullify irrational beliefs
quacks like an irrational belief.
To date, all the essays, lessons,
proclamations, articles, bla-bla,
haven’t cut through the stupor of
exceptionalism, or racism.
Yet, the most influential factor for
the creation of disparity is said to
be the lack of education.
As-if, it’s what we don’t know,
that causes trouble.
Pray tell, WHAT is unknown
about the plight of
man-womenkind
or the darkness of prejudice?
Do not the results bare witness
to the difference between
“education” and enlightenment?
Most all the institutions’ “best”
people have been “educated” at
the systems’ finest organizations.
The results speak for themselves…
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The difference is between the instigators of the banning and the dolts who carry it out. Goebbels had a Doctor of Philology degree and was a published playwright. So, clearly, it is possible to be an educated book-banning goon. But the crowds actually doing this stuff–the burning–those were typically uneducated folks, akin to our Trumpanzee Citizens’ Militia members.
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In Ohio, early voting started 2 days ago. The OEA recommends the following candidates for Ohio State Board of Education. District 4- Katie Hoffman, District 10 -Tom Jackson and District 2-Teresa Fedor.
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