The banning of books have been rampant across America’s education system; 6,870 books have been banned in American public schools. Ranging across different states, districts, and cities, book bans are a widespread issue that’s only going to increase at a rapid rate. Colorado in particular has become a heated battleground for book banning. In the Elizabeth School District, 19 books have been removed from school curriculums, but a federal judge made them put the books back in circulation. Statewide, in 2023, Colorado ranked top 17 in the nation for having more than 100 titles being challenged for banning. In 2024, there were 7 attempts to ban 137 books in libraries and public schools. Governor Jared Polis, as of 2025, has signed a bill in an attempt to make book bannings a more regulated process, and school districts will need to make new policies concerning library books and the removal of them.
Book bans used to be a single parent contesting something, but they have become an ever growing united conservative movement. An American Library Association report revealed that a majority of book bands are by conservative groups or government entities, and parents make up a slim percentage of the people behind the bans. It’s a united front that’s making literature inaccessible, making knowledge and different perspectives disappear, and Colorado is being ridden by this.
“The Bluest Eye”, “A Lesson Before Dying,” and “All Boys Aren’t Blue”, are a few of the books that have been banned in Colorado. All those books were written by black authors. A disproportionate amount of books being banned or contested are written by and about marginalized identities. Scrolling through any list of banned books, there runs a common theme, and conservative groups are enacting bans on books that discuss issues or matters that pertain to a selective identity. The groups are using their discriminate measures under the phony guise that book’s content are not meant for kids.
Book bans are just prohibiting and destroying snap shots of real life, of the real world. Real life is not an idyllic landscape painted by an preapproved group of people; it’s a mashup of so many walks of life and ideas, from musings on politics to all the conditions that make up our world. Kids should see themselves in literature, they should be allowed to see struggles they may face expressed in novels, they should see a life outside their own. Books on racism, discrimination, and experiences, whether they are fictional or factual, are not profane; they’re a look at life that people, students especially, can value or relate to.
Banning books limits a student’s empathy, understanding, and perspectives. Censoring what students know, and excluding them from a wider discussion of a variety of issues, is harmful. Reading has been proven to build empathy, so cutting away certain kinds of books is a form of selective empathy. Kids are already have difficulty finding books that they can personally identify with, and removing more works just exacerbates this issue, as many banned books center on marginalized identities. You’re not protecting them from harm, you’re shielding them from a reality that many live. The small group rejecting book is not even indicative of the parents’ opinion, as 70% of parents actually reject book bans.
Book bans are harmful; there’s no other way to put it. All the evidence points to book bans being a reductive quality, that disproportionately targets marginalized voices and attacks a student’s empathy and learning skills. Colorado has been an unfortunate battleground for books bans, and this upheaval is only going to get worse.
There’s many things you can do to help stop book bans. You can attend school board meetings concerning book banning, contact officials, read banned books, and support banned books by buying them. This is a pressing issue in education, and the front that’s it is to protect kids is a hoax. Find out more about this matter by looking at the recent actions of school districts near you.
