The US book ban has skyrocketed over the past few years, supported by conservative backlash against the debate on race, LGBTQ+ issues and diversity education in public schools. Last week, the Donald Trump administration directed the Department of Education to end the investigation into these bans, calling them “hoots.”
Pen America, one of America’s largest nonprofits dedicated to protecting literature and beyond, has seen the current barrage of books bans and the growing traction of the movement, and the authoritarian regime throughout history. It warns that it will put it at risk.
“What we’re looking at now reflects elements of various historical periods, but this has never happened at once,” said Managing Director of the US Free Expression Program in Penn America. said one Jonathan Friedman.
“That’s what makes this moment more than ever,” he added. “We are trying to censor multiple levels of laws of political staff from local school boards to the federal government, all ideologically controlled and what we can teach in schools.”
What began as a local effort to incite community-level backlash against public schools in 2020 has since escalated into widespread political movements. Friedman said efforts to ban modern books can be traced back to opposition to the 1619 project.
The project aims to reconstruct American history by focusing on the story, centering on the contributions of black Americans in the construction of the country. Trump argued that the film teaches students to “hate their country” and that Republican lawmakers caught up by vowing to ban school work.
Since then, right-wing politicians have used what they call “anti-American” literature as a campaign topic, reinforcing fear of books and progressive values that make students as a conservative rally cry We will “instruct” into view.
“We have begun to try and support members of these communities who are engaged at the state level and mobilizing to censor books at schools,” Friedman said. “We see now in 2025 these efforts not only continue at the state level, but also being discussed for implementation at the federal level.”
Penn America has tracked the ban on more than 10,000 public school books in the 2023-2024 grades alone. Data is collected through news reports, school board records, and legislative tracking.
The ban shows clear patterns of target authors for colour, women and members of the LGBTQ+ community. Books that educate you about racism, gender, and history are mostly recipients of unfortunate censorship attempts.
Naturally, the Red State on average shows a higher instance of book bans. Florida has the most book bans in the past year, with 4,561 instances banned in 33 school districts. The banned titles include the beloved by Toni Morrison, the ordinary people by Sally Rooney, and Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five.
Those bans reportedly cost between $34,000 and $135,000 a year for the district.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is a leading architect who bans books that do not match his political agenda. Like Trump, he calls the book ban a “hoax” despite clear evidence and direct involvement.
Friedman says the ban on books is often an early sign of authoritarianism. One of the most infamous examples is the large book Burnings of Nazi Germany, but Mussolini and many other dictators, including leaders of the Soviet Union and Communist China, have been found to be alike in cultural censorship and intellectual restraint. It uses the strategy of
And in many cases, the more subtle the censorship, the more effective it is.
“When someone wants to downplay a banned book, they don’t call it a ban,” Friedman said. “That’s why certain cases don’t make news.”
Acts that prohibit books are often referred to as the proper “removal” or “retreatment” of material. This has a much more threatening ring than “censorship.”
“The principles of public education are not to be determined by a particular ideology that aims to censor what others learn and access can learn in schools,” Friedman added.
And what’s not fully discussed is the distinction between classrooms and school libraries, Friedman argues. The classroom curriculum is shaped by a combination of state guidelines and educator expertise and discretion. However, public libraries, including public school libraries, are historically protected spaces for free access to ideas.
The groundbreaking case Pico v Island Tree established that the school board’s discretion is second in the First Amendment. In other words, the school board cannot limit the availability of books in libraries simply because they do not like or agree to the content.
“Libraries are meant to be places where people can access ideas and information in a free and uncensored way,” Friedman said. “So we have to be thoughtful about how we regulate libraries and classrooms.
“However, no one benefits from classrooms where teachers are afraid to answer student questions and they are afraid that students will ask certain questions.”
