The top three banned titles, according to PEN America's analysis, are"centered on LGBTQ+ individuals or touch on the topic of same-sex relationships:by George M. Johnson, banned in 21 districts, andby Ashley Hope Pérez, a love story between a Black teenage boy and a Mexican-American girl set in 1930s Texas, was also banned in 16 districts," the report notes."by the late Nobel Prize laureate Toni Morrison is the fifth most banned book, in 12 districts.
"Challenges to books, specifically books by non-white male authors, are happening at the highest rates we've ever seen," said Friedman."What is happening in this country in terms of banning books in schools is unparalleled in its frequency, intensity, and success." "Because of the tactics of censors and the politicization of books we are seeing the same books removed across state lines: books about race, gender, LGBTQ+ identities, and sex most often," Friedman continued."This is an orchestrated attack on books whose subjects only recently gained a foothold on school library shelves and in classrooms. We are witnessing the erasure of topics that only recently represented progress toward inclusion.
PENamerica The land of the free bans books. Not so free I guess.