![]() ![]() Here are just a few of the most frequently banned books we think everyone should read. Not everything should be.Īnd as Oscar Wilde once said in The Picture of Dorian Gray: “The books the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame.” If one of these titles-or any book that shows up frequently on banned, challenged, or other lists warning people away from them for whatever reason-makes us, as readers, feel uncomfortable or complicit or guilty? Maybe we should ask ourselves why. For the most part, they’re not easy reads. Several contain complex portrayals of sexuality, realistic depictions of mental illness, self-harm, and even death. They’re often focused on the experiences of marginalized groups and the discrimination they often face because of their specific identities. They regularly employ difficult or upsetting imagery to tell complicated stories. Many of the books that are listed as the most frequently banned or challenged titles-the American Library Association keeps a rather extensive database as part of their Office for Intellectual Freedom-have several significant things in common. Yet, these are all precisely the sort of complex societal issues that literature essentially exists to wrestle with. And throughout our history, we have worked to protect the right to access information and the right to make up your own mind.Book bans aren’t exactly new, but the scope and frequency of them certainly seem to have exploded in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, as school systems, teachers, parents, and political activists battle over the specifics of education in America, from the opening of schools and quarantine protocols around the country to the in-class discussion of potentially controversial topics like systemic racism and prejudice. We believe in an educated citizenry and a society where ideas are openly disseminated, discussed, and debated. The ACLU has always vigilantly defended the First Amendment and the right to free speech. ![]() The ACLU has also been instrumental in challenging bans on dozens of books, including “Ulysses,” “Howl,” “The Joy of Sex,” the “Harry Potter” series, “Sophie’s Choice,” and more.Įvery year, the ACLU marks Banned Books Week, an annual event that celebrates the freedom to read and calls attention to the wealth of creative expression that is stifled when books can be forbidden from library shelves. American Civil Liberties Union, which held that internet speech is entitled to full First Amendment protection. In 1978, we filed a Supreme Court friend-of-the-court brief challenging the government’s power to suppress radio broadcasts of George Carlin’s “Seven Words You Can’t Say On Television.” And in 1997, we won Reno v. Wilson (aka the “Miracle Decision”), in which the Supreme Court finally struck down film censorship laws. ![]() ![]() Mencken when he was charged with distributing copies of his banned magazine, American Mercury. From books and radio to film, television, and the internet, we have consistently fought to make sure Americans have the right to say, think, read, and write whatever they want without fear of government reprisal. Since its founding in 1920, the ACLU has opposed censorship in all its forms. ![]()
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