Conservative groups across the US, often linked to deep-pocketed rightwing donors, are carrying out a campaign to ban books from school libraries, often focused on works that address race, LGBTQ issues or marginalized communities.
Krause’s list sparked panic in schools, and by December a district in San Antonio said it was reviewing 414 titles in its libraries.
Groups purporting to be “grassroots” efforts have frequently led the charge, petitioning school boards or elected officials to remove certain books.
Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, said the number of attempts to ban books had soared through 2021.
Caldwell-Stone said ALA received 156 book challenges – an attempt to remove or restrict one or more books – in 2020.
Texas state representative Matt Krause, who sent a list of 850 books to schools, asking them how many they stocked.
The Pennsylvania ban was overturned in September 2021 after students protested outside their York County high school and outside school board meetings. »
