The American Library Association (ALA) hosted Banned Books Week October 1-7, 2023. Banned Books Week celebrates the freedom to read and express opinions. After over 40 years of this tradition, this year’s theme was “Let Freedom Read.”
Banned Books Week was first recognized in 1982 when library activist Judith Krug brought awareness to banned and challenged books.
A book becomes “challenged” when a person attempts to remove the book from a library or curriculum. According to the ALA, the pandemic caused a spike in challenged books across the country, leading to more sensitivity in what schools and parents are allowing underage people to read. These challenges disproportionately happen to books involving LGBTQ+ themes and authors of color.
“‘The Hate You Give’ is one of my favorite challenged books,” senior Sienna Gango said. “It’s really good, but it’s definitely been challenged due to the racial aspects of it. There’s also been a lot of books about LGBTQ+ characters that have been banned or challenged; there’s too many to name.”
Rancho Cucamonga High School’s librarian shared why Banned Books Week should be recognized.
“U.S. citizens have the right to read what is appropriate at your age,” Ms. Connie Joyce, the RCHS teacher-librarian, said. “Your parents have the right to make those decisions for you, not others.”
This goes far beyond just reading banned or challenged books, though. Banned Books Week also shows that a person should know their rights, and be able to choose if they want to read something or not.
“It’s an excellent time to highlight our rights and the history of challenges; especially with what’s happening in our country right now with certain states like Florida and Texas,” Joyce said. “Knowing that we need to be active and aware of what our rights are, and what your parents’ rights are, and that we should never take them for granted.”
Banned Books Week highlights everyone’s rights, whether it’s identity, opinions, or preferences. Banning books limits what students may be allowed to read, but it spreads awareness of global and societal issues.
