Issue:
Books are rapidly being banned and have been purposely excluding various groups and underrepresented communities. Commonly, one parent claims it’s inappropriate, but only towards their specific standards. Wouldn’t you agree that a book deemed inappropriate by one person shouldn’t be banned for all children to read? In pre-school, my favorite book was The Color of Us by Karen Katz, which featured all people with different shades of skin tones. This book demonstrated and taught me the significance of representation in books. Book bans are harmful because books like these are being prohibited in school districts in conservative jurisdictions. Children are not able to understand and acknowledge the diversity of our world if books like these are not available.
Over 1,648 controversial books have been banned in the United States for either depicting certain communities or being “too explicit.” For clarification, this type of removal is known as a book ban. Book bans are a type of censorship in which government authorities or organizations restrict books in schools and public libraries. Although people may view this as a trivial complication, it undermines the solemnity of the act. According to the article “Children don’t feel represented in the books they read” by the news source SWNS Digital, more than a third of children don’t feel represented in the books they read because of their gender or ethnicity. This will increase even more with the banning of books. In an attempt to keep the interest of children, book banning presents many negative effects. There are three main topics that book bans target. These consist of books involving the LGBTQ community, books involving racial equality, and books including the history of oppression. We should not comply with book prohibitions because they limit inclusivity and have the potential to create gaps in knowledge for students.
Analysis:
Various solutions to bookbans have been taking place, and some have been successful. Firstly, local solutions have taken place. Within educational districts, students have attempted to diminish the book bans by starting banned book clubs. Students have taken matters into their own hands by advocating for censored books and directly informing their peers about the issue. A recent study done by Kiara Alfonseca at ABC News (2023) discusses the rise of these school clubs. It explains how student-led banned book clubs and anti-censorship groups have emerged in jurisdictions where a conservative-led campaign is present. They forge these clubs to prevent the removal of certain books or teachings and advocate by pursuing board meetings, protests, and other disruptions. The clubs primarily focus on books involving the justice of BIPOC people, the LGBTQ community, and the operative past of the USA. Apart from these clubs pursuing justice, they are also positively teaching students about the diverse and marginalized communities that make up our world. This has had immense success in schools, as more students are advocating against the censorship of books. This induces more book-centered engagement in schools, so students can actively raise awareness and protest against this issue. However, the impact of this solution is only felt within the perimeters of smaller communities. Since these clubs were created only within one school, further action is limited.
Another solution that has taken action against book bans is the creation of nationally funded campaign organizations. Various organizations have been started to combat the banning of books, and they actively make a difference. The most popular campaign is the USA organization “United Against Book Bans’ ‘. As stated on their website, they aid librarians in defending books from being banned, as well as engage individuals to advocate against this censorship. This organization has nationally engaged individuals to go against the banning of books and fight for this injustice. People can become involved in a variety of ways. Librarians can specifically forge “Book Résumés’,’ which are free resources that include access to censored books. This is an effective way to combat book banning, as students gain easier access to books. However, various students fear seeking banned books because of the stigma behind them. Furthermore, parents may prevent their children from reading censored books since it may support a varying political agenda. The UABB campaign also allows simple access to be a part of this organization. This can encourage students to speak their minds during political conferences and educational meetings. However, this doesn’t exactly ensure social justice, as many students may opt not to participate in professional meetings.
Proposal:
Though various solutions have been implemented to combat book censorships, they mainly focus on engaging people against book bannings as a form of protest. This may not be accessible and doable for a wide margin, as the majority of people living in book-banned areas are pressured to recluse their notions against them. For these reasons, I propose an accessible iPhone application that allows individuals to read banned books on a digital platform without government authorities censoring them. This would be a free application, with a variety of banned books easy to access as well as updated news on the banning of books in different states. On the homepage of the application, there would be a variety of categories for the banned book selection. It would include books centering LGBTQ identity on the justice of BIPOC individuals, as well as the USA’s discriminatory history. This app would be free of any discrimination or opinionated censorship. It will use an AI algorithm to suggest banned books and news to the user’s preference.
We can do this by collaborating with a variety of “controversial” authors and censored history books. Authors who had their books banned can upload their stories onto this digital platform. Also, emerging authors who’d like to share their stories from different backgrounds can upload to this platform. To implement this idea, we can hire a team of app development professionals. For instance, we can hire an executive team from digital professional websites like “Toptal.” This would allow a wide variety of industry professionals who know how to construct apps and how to forge functional applications. We can market this application by further hiring marketing teams to allow it to gain traction and thrive. For instance, we can hire professionals through websites like “App Guardians” to find professional marketers who specialize in app advertising.
There are various benefits to creating this app. This application will further educate students about our diverse and growing world and history. Specifically, students will no longer have to experience the censorship of the LGBTQ community, the BIPOC community and the history of discrimination. Every student deserves to learn and acquire knowledge about everyone, regardless of their background.
Community Impact:
This app would have tremendous effects on my community. Specifically in my community, racial, gender and sexuality-oriented hatred is prevalent. Offensive acts are passed without any acknowledgment. The development of this app will shape my community for the better. Living in a smaller rural town in Washington, individuals are unaware of the diverse community of people outside of our protected community. This allows hatred and stigma to be passed along. The citizens of my community are bound to have negative beliefs about marginalized communities because of the normalities in our town. When students in my community download this app, they will be further exposed to the diverse communities of our world without having to be censored by the government or parental figures. Students will be free to explore a variety of diverse books with representations of ‘controversial’ communities not allowed to be discussed. This will naturally allow more acceptance and alliance in my community, as everyone will be exposed to true diversity. As our world continues to change and diversify, it’s crucial for all adolescents to have an open mind to the communities in our world without judging anyone. Banning books and not being exposed to them creates gaps in knowledge for young learners. This is why students need to have the freedom to read and consume any book they desire. All in all, this anti-book censorship has the potential to strengthen and empower my community, as it encourages togetherness, inclusivity, and diversity. All students have the right and freedom to obtain knowledge, and my app fully encourages this.
Work Cited
Children don’t feel represented in the books they read
School culture wars push students to form banned book clubs, anti-censorship groups
United Against Book Bans
Toptal: Homepage
App Guardians: Homepage