In recent years, we’ve all seen the nonstop reports on social media and news outlets about book bans in states all across the U.S., especially in southern states like Florida and Texas. Reading about the myriad of bans made on books previously kept in school libraries for decades, and the effect it’s had on modern education and students alike, raised a question – has book banning always been around? 

Unfortunately, the banning of books has been around for centuries and it doesn’t seem like it’s going anywhere anytime soon. Another unfortunate fact is that a lot of the research done about book banning in the past has a lot of ties to the U.S. Book banning goes back further than many would think. Even going as far back as the first empires in History: “259–210 B.C.: The Chinese emperor Shih Huang Ti is said to have buried alive 460 Confucian scholars to control the writing of history in his time. In 212 B.C., he burned all the books in his kingdom, retaining only a single copy of each for the Royal Library and those were destroyed before his death. With all previous historical records destroyed, he thought history could be said to begin with him.”

So, to say that book banning has always been a part of history worldwide would be accurate. Some of the most notable books in history that we study, or use for worship have also been banned for periods of time. For example, The Odyssey and the Bible have both been banned at certain points in history. 

But why are book bans a thing? 

The simple answer is control. Controlling what people read, and actively censoring certain books is a way to strong-arm the narrative that the governing body doing the bans wants. Some of the first bans in the U.S. revolved around religion: “Most of the earliest book bans were spurred by religious leaders, and by the time Great Britain founded its colonies in America, it had a longstanding history of book censorship.” By banning books that governments or religious organizations deemed “inappropriate,” they could uphold the hierarchy they had achieved through their communities not having access to varying opinions and ideals. 

Overall, book bans have been a tool that governing bodies use to uphold certain agendas – regardless of their negative effect on education, students, and the communities, these book bans single out. If you live somewhere where books are being banned at alarming rates please reach out to representatives in your district and call on them to stop the bans. For more resources please go to https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/bannedbooksweek/ideasandresources/activity and find out how you can help. 

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Sources: 

https://www.freedomtoread.ca/resources/bannings-and-burnings-in-history/

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/history-of-book-bans-in-the-united-states

https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/bannedbooksweek/ideasandresources/activity