Banned Books Week, an annual event organized by the Banned Books Week Coalition that calls attention to books that have been restricted or outright banned, ran from September 27, 2020, to October 3, 2020.
This event was first established in 1982 and designed to oppose censorship, particularly that of reading materials in schools and libraries. Hundreds of books have been restricted and/or banned from schools and libraries, or subjected to such attempts for a variety of reasons: including maturity levels, violence, religious views, witchcraft and magic, sexually explicit themes, racism, challenges to traditional family structures and more.
Every year, hundreds of books are challenged for a variety of reasons. Some books are challenged multiple times such as the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling (reasons for challenges includes magic/witchcraft, characters with nefarious intentions and actions, etc.), “George” by Alex Gino (LGBTQIA+ content, sexual references, Transgender character, etc.) and “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood (for sexual content, vulgar profanity, etc.)
In 2019, around 377 challenges were issued that attempted to restrict 566 books in schools and libraries. Challenges are issued regarding reading material on multiple levels of education and learning, from elementary schools to universities. In response to such challenges, Banned Books Week is designed to encourage readers to exercise their freedom to read.