Book Banning Attempts Rise in UK as US Groups Reach Overseas

UK Librarians See Impact of US Censorship Attempts

Librarians across the pond are reporting an increase in requests to remove books from their shelves, a change they attribute to the growing influence of US-based pressure groups. As in the States, many of the books being targeted for banning center on LGBTQ+ themes. At present, most of the book challenges in the UK come from individuals and small groups, but librarians report being harassed by members of US-based groups online, and one librarian found propaganda from a US-based group on her desk. While library professionals in the UK report that the situation there is not (yet) as dire as it is here in the US, the global media ecosystem and the rise of far-right groups worldwide make this a serious threat to intellectual freedom. You’d be right to wonder if Moms for Liberty (named a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center) is among the US groups now reaching overseas. The Guardian does not specify.

Pete Hegseth Orders Books Critical of Racism Removed from Naval Academy Library

As a post going around social media puts it, Maya Angelou is out, but Mein Kamf can stay. Citing a January 29 executive order by Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently instructed the Naval Academy to remove books with diversity, equity, and inclusion themes from the school’s Nimitz Library. Politically appointed leaders in the Department of the Navy decided which books to remove, ultimately pulling 381 titles from shelves. Among the books removed (see the full list) are Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, How to Be Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi, studies of the KKK, and histories of the Holocuast. It’s a move academics and Naval Academy alumni are calling ” a case study in ideological censorship.” As Risa Brooks, a professor at political science at Marquette University, puts it:

“I think it does a real disservice to the students to suggest that they can’t handle difficult ideas or face ideas they disagree with…We are training these people to go out and command troops and to lead people potentially in war. We want them to be resilient, because what they’re going to face is far worse than a book on a bookshelf with a title that possibly makes them uncomfortable.”

This is a predictable development from an administration that knows it will benefit from citizens’ ignorance. One encouraging development: many Naval Academy alumni, including some very high-ranking former officials, are speaking out and even working with local bookstores to make the banned titles available to academy midshipmen. Gentlemen, welcome to the resistance.

She Doesn’t Even Go Here!

Why are some of the ambitious, cunning, and occasionally cruel women of classic literature interpreted as “Mean Girls” while others get as pass for their pragmatism? One writer’s theory: it all comes down to class. Dust off your Lit 101 syllabus and enjoy an analytical re-reading of some of American fiction’s most memorable characters.