Books

Book Bans And Challenges On The Rise In The U.S.

Book bans are nothing new; it's a war that's been waged in libraries across America for decades.

Book Bans And Challenges On The Rise In The U.S.
Nam Y. Huh / AP
SMS

People have burned "Twilight" and "Harry Potter" books, along with merchandise. It's an event symbolic of something that's happening more silently across the country at an increasing rate: book bans.Recently, we've seen attempts to yank books from shelves in Tennessee, Florida, Oklahoma, Texas and more.Book challenges are nothing new; it's a war that's been waged in libraries across America for decades. But according to the American Library Association, there were 330 "book challenges" in the fall of 2021 alone, an uptick from the same period across recent years.So why are we seeing this trend making a comeback?Poet and writer Tasslyn Magnusson talks to Newsy to explain. She works with the Every Library Institute to help track the book banning efforts currently happening across the country.