This year during Banned Books Week 2023 (Oct. 1–7), not only are books being banned, but also the right to teach about racism and LGBTQ+ identity — essentially placing thousands more titles off limits. Official lists of banned books reveal only the tip of the iceberg.

The Oklahoma law HB 1775, passed in 2021, restricts teaching that could make a student “feel discomfort, guilt, anguish or any other form of psychological distress on account of his or her race or sex.”

What book that looks honestly at U.S. history does not risk causing some discomfort for the reader?

Proponents of the bills argue they are protecting children from feeling guilty and from propaganda.

In truth, what concerns the right is young people learning to ask critical questions about our society, to organize for social change, and about the power of interracial solidarity.

In addition to banning books and curriculum, the right threatens teachers who pledge to teach truthfully.

These attacks draw on the same language used over the past decade in attempts to ban people’s history in K–12 classrooms in Tucson, Arizona; Arkansas; and Indiana. In those cases, grassroots efforts helped to protect students’ right to learn. Below are suggested responses to the current attacks.

Organize: Power in Numbers

Don’t Let Intimidation

Define the Curriculum

When Georgia teacher Katie Rinderle was fired for reading My Shadow Is Purple, dozens of Georgia teachers signed up to receive copies of the book to read to their students and defend their freedom to learn.

Engage Young People:

Teach About Book Bans

A team of 4th-grade teachers in D.C. introduced their students to the importance of representation in children’s literature and then they read about book bans across the nation. Students created posters to raise an alarm schoolwide.

Let us know if you engage your students in similar studies of this critical issue.

Create a Pop-up Display

Create an interactive display for your school or library to promote discussions about the dangers of banned books and efforts to defend the freedom to learn. We provide free downloadable display materials and guidelines.

For displays and/or readings of banned books, Teaching for Change’s Social Justice Books offers a list of recommended titles.

With thousands of books banned, Social Justice Books has selected titles that address social issues, such as When Wilma Rudolph Played Basketball. Many of the books are not widely known.

Teach Banned History

The book bans and anti-education laws are united in their larger political goal: to rob children of access to a usable past, an account of history that helps them fully see and understand their present. We must not let them. Check out the free downloadable lessons in the #TeachTruth syllabus.

Find An Event Near You

Check out the calendar of events, coordinated by the American Library Association, Freedom to Read Foundation, the National Education Association, PEN America, PFLAG, Project Censored, and more organizations.

Classes and Conferences

for Social Justice Educators

See our calendar for more upcoming events hosted by the Zinn Education Project and our colleagues — including the Teach the Black Freedom Struggle online series, the 2023 Indigenous Peoples’ Day Curriculum Teach-In at the National Museum of the American Indian, the 16th Annual Northwest Teaching for Social Justice conference, and the National Council for the Social Studies conference in Nashville.

For Banned Books Week, make sure more students read banned books and learn the history missing from textbooks. With your donation to the Zinn Education Project, we can equip thousands more classroom teachers to bring people’s history to millions of students.