Crusading parents and protesters made a record number of attempts to ban, censor, or restrict access to books in 2022, according to the American Library Association (ALA).
The number of book challenges has skyrocketed since the start of the century, rising to 1,269 last year, a more than 700 percent increase from 2000. The number of books targeted is also way up.
“Overwhelmingly, we’re seeing these challenges come from organized censorship groups that target local library board meetings to demand removal of a long list of books they share on social media,” Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, said in a news release.
“Their aim is to suppress the voices of those traditionally excluded from our nation’s conversations, such as people in the LGBTQIA+ community or people of color.”
Comment on this story at backtalk@indyweek.com. Follow Staff Writer Jasmine Gallup on Twitter or send an email to jgallup@indyweek.com.
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