Speech - M'Kiyah Baird

The Banning of Books in American Schools

Do you remember reading a book that captivated your imagination so quickly, it felt impossible to let go of it?  Do you remember reading a book that sparked your interest in something you thought you never would have liked? A book that takes hold of your creativity and never seems to let go. Books have this incredible ability to bring people together and make them understand each other. These emotional characters can make us humble. That newly discovered forest filled with dragons and knights makes us adventurous. The invention that everyone seemed to doubt until it changed the world makes us curious. We are constantly learning about ourselves and our world and whether child or adult, a book has the ability to change anyone’s perception. You know, I used to want to be an author so I could write real people’s stories, both the good and the bad, because we learn from other’s experiences. So tell me this: why are we banning these powerful stories in our schools? Why are we teaching ourselves that ‘if you don’t talk about it - don’t read about it, - it didn’t happen’?  

Let me explain. You see, naturally, humans look for the betterment of society - whatever that may look like in your mind. While parents look for what they believe is best for their children, a government official may look for what’s better for their respective domain. And, apparently, there are some books that don’t meet the criteria for schools. And no I'm not talking about the obvious ones with fade to black scenes, I mean the ones that express something controversial one time in the entirety of the book. There's this thing called book censorship. It is the removal, restriction, or suppression of a literary, artistic, or educational piece to keep up a uniform idea in society. Each year there are hundreds of books that are challenged for various reasons that often times get banned in some US schools. Generally, it’s parents coming to challenge books containing something of violence, profanity, or religion that they disagree with. 

The main counter-argument for the banning of these books is the “first amendment” argument: The argument that every American citizen has a right to freedom of speech and expression under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Thus, ‘I have a right to read this book just as much as the author has the right to publish it.’ This should be true under the law as not allowing others to read certain books forces one belief on to society and keeps individuals from branching out on their interests. This is a primary concern for many as it seems to lessen that first-amendment right. But then there is the parental perspective of the argument. There are two sides, the advocates for censorship, and the critics of it.

Let’s look at the advocates. We’re teenagers, easily influenced human beings still learning our way. Parents tend to see their children as exactly that- little children. You don't grow out of that, you are still exactly as you were in that embarrassing baby picture they like to show off. So, no wonder a parental figure would want to protect you from the harsh reality of the world. According to the American Library Association Office of Intellectual Freedom, children’s books, young adult books, classics, and books with diverse content are the top genres of frequently challenged books.  Parents are determined to keep trouble away from their kids, especially for younger children that don’t understand certain concepts and contexts of a historical topic. According to Kalli Anderson, a mother and journalist at a local news source, being a parent turned her into a book censor. She was suddenly left with questions about her daughter’s ability to understand the historical context of a slang word used in a book. She stated that her mindset as a college student was that she would never subject herself to censoring her children’s books. She set out to ask other parents how they felt about the issue and found that many parents share the concern that a book their child was reading didn’t reflect their personal beliefs and values. This idea suddenly translates to school and before you know it, no one’s kids can read a book. Librarians deal with this problem, too. According to Allison G. Kaplan and Bradley Debrick, two university librarians, on a frighteningly frequent basis, their library collections are challenged by parents and community members who object to a simple picture or a word. (Debrick, Kaplan 56) 

Then there’s the critics. Colin Campbell, an author for the New York Times, noticed frequent supreme court decisions and constant conflict that justified the censoring of books. He criticised the idea that the justification for banning books is to keep a uniform society. He says they commonly  “condemn the depiction of unorthodox family arrangements, sexual explicitness even in a biological context, speculation about Christ, unflattering portraits of American authority, criticisms of business and corporate practices, and radical political ideas.” (Campbell) He says that these uniform concepts are no where in the law and should not be forced upon anyone.

So what’s the point? Well, when you have several concerned parents, all looking for the betterment of their children’s lives, one’s personal values suddenly affect everyone else.  When you protect and censor what a child learns, you don’t give them the chance to experience things on their own. Melissa Scholes Young, an author and journalist at the Washington Post speaking about her two children, says “I’ve never censored their reading. I’d rather watch them stumble in their own reading discoveries than limit their exposure, and I trust that the safest place for them to stretch their experiences is on the page.” (Young) Young expresses her belief that children and teenagers should be allowed to learn and from that you begin to teach the context. From this, we can see that allowing room for kids and teens to make their own experiences allows time to teach context. Learning is the goal here and restricting access to these tools prevents the learning process.

So what’s the solution? There are already non-profit organizations such as the ALA, the Freedom to Read Foundation, and the National Coalition Against Censorship that have begun peaceful protests and attempts to spread awareness. This is exactly what we can do: express to others the importance of books and why banning them for simple reasons is harmful to students. Through social media or contact with government officials, we spread awareness and we begin to increase their level of importance in not just schools but society.

At the end of the day, though, why do I care this much about books? Because they allow for opportunities and when you see an opportunity, you seize it. The opportunity to connect with family and friends over your love - or dislike - for a book. It’s the opportunity for inspiration and new aspirations. Books are the opportunity for education and discovery. For those experiences that kids and teens are missing, I bet I could find some references in a book. However, how would I accomplish anything if the book that could have started my adventure was banned from my school for a single word? 

Works Cited 

Admin. “Frequently Challenged Books.” Advocacy, Legislation & Issues, ALA American Library Association, 16 Sept. 2019, www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks.

Anderson, Kalli. “Being a Parent Turned Me Into a Book Censor.” The Walrus, The Walrus, 14 Nov. 2019, thewalrus.ca/being-a-parent-turned-me-into-a-book-censor/.

Campbell, Colin. “BOOK BANNING IN AMERICA.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 20 Dec. 1981.

Kaplan, Allison G, and Bradley Debrick. “Banned Books, Blocked Bytes.” Children & Libraries: The Journal of the Association for Library Service to Children., 2009, pp. 56–58.

Young, Melissa S. “Perspective | I Don't Censor the Books My Children Read. I Think They'll Be Stronger for It.” Washington Post, Washing Post, 18 May 2018, 6:00 a.m., www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/news/parenting/wp/2018/05/18/i-dont-censor-the-books-my-children-read-i-think-theyll-be-stronger-for-it/%3foutputType=amp.