Last month, Congressman Jamie Raskin (MD-08) and Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) reintroduced a resolution condemning an escalating censorship crisis that has removed and targeted thousands of books from the shelves of schools, libraries and universities across the country.
The bicameral resolution, which coincided with Banned Books Week, reinforces congressional recognition of students’ First Amendment rights and affirms that the freedom to read is essential to a strong democracy. In the 2023-2024 school year alone, PEN America documented over 10,000 instances of individual books being banned, nearly triple the previous academic year. Many bans have removed books from public shelves with characteristics that would be targeted by Project 2025, which additionally proposes labeling teachers and librarians who distribute such books as sex offenders.
“By filling our libraries with a diversity of stories, we help our students understand new perspectives rather than suppressing their freedom to think, read and write independently,” said Rep. Raskin. “We must close this chapter of censorship and, rather than continuing to take a page from the world’s dictators and autocrats, turn our attention to the resources students need to succeed. I am grateful to Senator Schatz for his partnership on this resolution.”
“Any attempt to ban books because someone has an ideological disagreement or doesn’t believe in capturing the full scope of history is un-American,” said Senator Schatz. “Freedom of expression is a founding principle of our country, and it’s up to all of us to stand up against these attacks on this fundamental right.”
According to findings from PEN America and the American Library Association, targeted books include classics like To Kill A Mockingbird, 1984, and The Handmaid’s Tale. Books are also more likely to be removed if they feature content related to the LGBTQIA+ experience, race or racial injustice or stories about grief and abuse.
“We thank Representative Raskin and Senator Schatz for their continued commitment to academic freedom and the First Amendment. The movement to ban books is an affront to public education and students’ ability to understand the world,” said PEN America’s Congressional Affairs Lead, Laura Schroeder. “The targeted bans intentionally seek to silence the experiences of authors of color, LGBTQI+ authors and stories that explore the themes of racism, trauma, religion, gender identity and sexual identity. Students are being deprived of stories that can help them deal with real lived experiences such as trauma and violence. This must end.”
“Libraries defend every American’s freedom to read – a freedom that is increasingly under threat – even though many librarians face criticism and threats to their livelihood and safety,” said Cindy Hohl, president of the American Library Association. “This Banned Books Week, we’re proud to have Congressional leaders standing with us and with communities that are fighting back to protect their libraries and schools from the censors.”
Read what more supporters and advocates are saying about the resolution here.
“Keep your nose in a book—and keep other people’s noses out of which books you choose to stick your nose into!” said Art Spiegelman, author and illustrator of Maus and other works.
“It’s perfectly fine for a parent to decide what his or her child can read. It is not fine for that same parent to decide what other parents’ children can read. Books give kids of a chance to see themselves represented on pages – creating a sense of belonging, and to discover people different from the ones they know – creating empathy. To ban books is to rob kids of tools that they can use to understand the world. We know that the vast majority of Americans do not support book bans. It’s just a small group that is advocating for the removal of books, but they happen to be loud. We just need to be a little bit louder,” said Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author.
“I’m so thankful to all the schools, teachers, and librarians who are working to keep books accessible to all. It was a school librarian who got me hooked on reading (and writing) by finding the perfect book for me. Ironically, that book is now banned in many schools because it teaches the lesson that the only way to defeat a bully is to stand up to them. Censorship is bullying. Let’s stand up to book banners!” said Meg Cabot, author of The Princess Diaries.
“When we ban books, we aren’t simply just removing access to certain stories. We are telling groups of people that their stories don’t matter, which is to say their existence as human beings doesn’t matter either,” said George M. Johnson, author of ALL BOYS AREN’T BLUE and FLAMBOYANTS: THE QUEER HARLEM RENAISSANCE I WISH I’D KNOWN.
“The freedom to read, the freedom to access information, and the freedom to learn are some of the most vital rights in this country. Removing books from schools and public libraries cuts off people’s access to knowledge about the wider world and about their own lives within it. This is especially true when the books being removed are about minority identities, or topics less commonly portrayed in popular culture. A book that might seem pointless to one reader might be life-saving to another. Banned Books Week highlights and celebrates all of the books which have been threatened in this country, including my own, and I’m extremely grateful to everyone supporting it this year and every year!” said Maia Kobabe, author and illustrator of Gender Queer: A Memoir.
The resolution is endorsed by the American Library Association (ALA), Banned Books Week Coalition, the Center for American Progress, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, EveryLibrary, Interfaith Alliance, JCRC of Greater Washington, Jewish Community Relations Council of Broward County (Florida), Jewish Community Relations Council of Portland, Jewish Council for Public Affairs, National Book Foundation, National Coalition Against Censorship, National Council of Jewish Women, National Council of Teachers of English, National Education Association, National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund, PEN America, PFLAG National, Red Wine and Blue Education Fund, The Sikh Coalition, Jewish Community Relations Council for Tucson & Southern Arizona, and Urban Libraries Council (ULC).
In the House, the resolution is cosponsored by 43 Members of Congress, including Reps. Colin Allred (TX); Suzanne Bonamici (OR); Joyce Beatty (OH); Shontel M. Brown (OH); Julia Brownley (CA); Ed Case (HI); Sean Casten (IL); Joaquin Castro (TX); Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (FL); Judy Chu (CA); Emanuel Cleaver, II (MO); Jim Costa (CA); Lloyd Doggett (TX); Veronica Escobar (TX); Lizzie Fletcher (TX); Lois Frankel (FL); Maxwell Alejandro Frost (FL); Raul M. Grijalva (AZ); Jahana Hayes (CT); Jared Huffman (CA); Glenn Ivey (MD); Henry C. “Hank” Johnson (GA); Summer Lee (PA); Barbara Lee (CA); Teresa Leger Fernandez (NM); Ted Lieu (CA); Jim McGovern (MA); Grace Meng (NY); Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC); Scott Peters (CA); Chellie Pingree (ME); Mark Pocan (WI); Katie Porter (CA); Delia Ramirez (IL); Raul Ruiz (CA); Andrea Salinas (OR); Mary Gay Scanlon (PA); Jan Schakowsky (IL); David Scott (GA); Darren Soto (FL); Shri Thanedar (MI); Rashida Tlaib (MI); and Nikema Williams (GA).
To recognize Banned Books Week, Rep. Raskin is also inviting his colleagues in Congress and people across America to participate in his new #ResolveToRead social media challenge. The challenge encourages social media users, especially students and young people, to read a passage from a book threatened by bans—sharing either a favorite passage or one that captures the repression and oppression in the condition of censorship in America today.
Read the full text of the resolution here.
