The History of Book

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From left: Authors Alice Walker, George M. Johnson (back), Malinda Lo and Toni Morrison. Photo Courtesy: Bettmann/Getty Images; Sean Howard & Devin Tracy/IMDb; Sharona Jacobs/author’s website; Bettmann/Getty ImagesSadly, the act of banning books is nothing new. In fact, the practice has been around for centuries. Some once-controversial books are now regarded as must-read classics, while others remain banned in various states or school systems. But even though book banning isn’t new, it remains a cause for alarm.Recent book bannings that have cropped up in conservative-led states in 2021 and 2022 disproportionately impact books written by people of color and LGBTQ+ authors.


By targeting certain groups of writers with book bans, stories kids of color and queer and trans kids Middle East Phone Number List need most — those in which they see themselves reflected — become inaccessible. In general, book bans narrow the types of characters and narratives that we’re all exposed to, which can lead to more close-mindedness or reinforce negative stereotypes about folks who aren’t able to tell their own stories to a wider audience. So, why do books get banned to begin with? Which titles are commonly banned, and how does Banned Books Week spread awareness about this restricted access? Here, we’ll take a look at all of these questions and explore what we lose when we ban books.






The History of Book BanningBook banning has been around for a long, long time. Sometime between 259–210 B.C. Shih Huang, the then-Emperor of China, burned books and stopped Confucian scholars from documenting work he didn’t agree with. Later, around 8 A.D., the poet Ovid was banned from Rome; in 35 A.D, Caligula, the Emperor of Rome, was upset about the Greek ideas of freedom that Homer wrote about in The Odyssey some 300 years earlier and opposed it. In the 1500s, the Roman Catholic church opposed the Protestant Reformation, claiming the pope was infallible and that only the Roman Catholic Church could provide eternal salvation to worshippers. Back then, the Roman Catholic Church controlled everything, from religion.