Closing Books Shuts Out Ideas

According to The American Library Association, challenging a book is “an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group.” When enough members of a community make their case against a book, or government officials demand restrictions, a book challenged will result in a book banned. In 2021, a burst of book banning swept through the U.S. Continuing into 2022, Texas officials reevaluated books available in public high school libraries and began challenging novels that push past themes presented in conventional literature such as heterosexual romance or non-descriptive scenes of sex.The banning of books is an unwise exercise in censorship that prevents students from receiving a cpmplete education. 

Rep. Matt Krause (R-Tyler, TX) presented a list of 850 books to the Texas Education Agency, requesting they be investigated for their mature content. Writers with The Dallas Morning News reported that “Attached to Krause’s letter was a 16-page list of books published from 1969 to 2021 that deal with issues of race, gender identity and sexuality. They included “Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates” and “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander.” Removing books that tell stories of racism, homophobia or transphobia encourages a generation to be uncompassionate; forcing students to commit to a single and dangerous worldview.

In order to feel comfortable in their own identities, teens must have access to characters and stories that reflect their own identity. Books that share the lives of all people let teenagers know that the world’s people in all their variety should be celebrated. 

In response to mothers in Katy, Texas, having his book banned from their local high school, Lev AC Rosen, author of “Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts),” a column about sex ed for queer young adults, explains “I think it’s troubling when they can’t distinguish between porn – which is not meant for education – and a book like mine that’s trying to educate teenagers and tell them, ‘It’s OK to have these desires; here’s how to act on them consensually and safely.” With or without parental approval, teenagers will find themselves questioning their sexuality, gender and position in the world. We can choose to appease the agendas of parents or prioritize the education of our youth.

Mike Hixenbaugh, a senior investigative reporter with NBC News, reported that “In the affluent Eanes Independent School District in Austin, a parent proposed replacing four books about racism, including “How to Be an Antiracist,” by Ibram X. Kendi, with copies of the Bible.” Replacing a book which discusses ways to actively fight racism with a religious text does not inspire positive change, but rather keeps teens isolated from a pressing issue that needs attention. The Bible and other religious texts should be in public school libraries, as well as books that discuss sexuality, race and gender. Excluding any texts from teens, whether we agree with them or not, prevents young adults from making up their own minds about a rich and ever changing world. 

Today's controversy is tomorrow’s classic. Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” discussed racial injustice during the Jim Crow era, “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald depicts scenes of excessive drinking and partying during prohibition. Writers push the boundaries of conventional ways of life during their time, until enough years pass for the themes in their work to no longer be taboo.

In attempts to shelter high school students from books with specific content, we shelter young adults from stories of the world that deserve to be heard. In order to combat the banning of books and show support for young people who come after us, MSU students can continue to read books that have been banned from schools, not allowing them to fade away. State officials can ban books, but they will never ban a generation’s quest for knowledge and understanding.