Former US president Barack Obama has written an open letter criticizing right-wing efforts to ban books from public school libraries. Even more troubling is the parallel rise of book bans in democracies across the globe.Last year, a record number of 2,571 unique book titles were targeted for censorship in US public schools, often by parent-led groups. That represents a 38% increase from the 1,858 unique titles targeted for censorship in 2021. The majority of these titles were written by or about members of the LGBTQ community and people of color. That trend shows no sign of slowing.

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In an open letter to American librarians, former US president Barack Obama has now criticized the "profoundly misguided" right-wing efforts to ban books from public school libraries. He emphasized that some of the books that shaped his own life and the lives of many others are now being challenged by those who disagree with certain ideas or perspectives.

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Who is behind the recent book bans in the US?

Attempts to ban books in the US have become more organized in recent years, with right-wing minorities targeting books on LGBTQ topics or featuring Black characters and issues. Banning campaigns are orchestrated by groups like Moms for Liberty, which advocates for school book bans; Parents Defending Education, which strives to counteract activists' efforts to introduce "harmful agendas" into schools; and No Left Turn in Education, which is co-leading opposition to critical race theory education.

It's not only single titles these groups want to ban, but multiple titles at once. According to the the American Library Association (ALA), 40% of last year's attempts were aimed at censoring 100 books or more at a time.

And because these groups are so well-organized, they are being heard by politicians seeking electoral advantages, as in the case of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. The Republican is running for president in the upcoming 2024 election. In 2022, he signed a punitive yet vaguely-worded state law concerning education, the Stop-Woke Act. That was ultimately struck down by a Florida judge, but Florida schools and universities continue to self-censor themselves out of fear of breaching the law. The campaign groups are effective.

Furthermore, some 10 US states have enacted legislation to increase parental control over library content or restrict students' access to certain materials.

Barack Obama has come out in support of the Unite Against Book Bans campaign, led by the American Library Association, which wants to counter the censorship attempts.

Black and LGBTQ literature in focus

In his open letter, Barack Obama explained how reading about people with vastly different lives helped him to empathize with them. Such books are invaluable for understanding society, he added.

He expressed special concern regarding the censorship of minority authors. Black-authored books subjected to school bans and censorship in various states include contemporary works such as, "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas, a powerful novel addressing racism and police violence; "Monday's Not Coming" by Tiffany D. Jackson, which sheds light on missing Black girls and women; and "All Boys Aren't Blue" by George M. Johnson, a memoir-manifesto exploring the experiences of a queer Black man.

But also historically relevant books are in the eye of the censorship storm, among them Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "The Color Purple," which faces challenges for explicit content, and "The Bluest Eye," an examination of race, class, and gender by Toni Morrison, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature for it.

The US is 'inspiring' education censorship in other democracies

Barack Obama also stresses that it is "important to understand that the world is watching. If America — a nation built on freedom of expression – allows certain voices and ideas to be silenced, why should other countries go out of their way to protect them?"

And, indeed, he has a point. Other English-speaking democratic countries, like the UK, Canada, Australia or New Zealand, already seem to take inspiration from the US. As in the United States, governments in those countries are giving in to parents, religious groups or other staunch right-wing conservatives who push for these bans.

In the UK, for instance, there's a growing concern about critical race theory in schools, leading to the censorship and removal from school shelves of books exploring systemic racism, as well as children's books on diversity and LGBTQ identities. Canada is also witnessing parental groups requesting bans of books with LGBTQ content and seeking changes in curricular topics related to critical race theory. And Australia's Senate voted against the inclusion of critical race theory in the school curriculum in 2021.

Other major democracies in the world have made headlines by banning or censoring books in recent years.

Hungary, Turkey and Brazil: Democracies banning or censoring books

In Europe, the most notorious case is the one of Hungary. While not explicitly banning books, the Hungarian government ordered bookshopsin 2021 to seal and wrap all books suspected of promoting homosexuality, gender transitioning, or containing "explicit" depictions of sexuality before selling them to individuals under the age of 18. Bookstores that don't abide by the law have to pay hefty fines — like a Budapest bookstore that recently displayed the award-winning young adult graphic novel "Heartstopper" in the children's section of the store. It was fined approximately €32,000.

Turkey has imposed a ban on the sale of children's books like "Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls," a collection of empowering stories about women from history.

And in Brazil, there have been concerted efforts against "indoctrination" and "gender ideology" in schools. Lawmakers have introduced more than 200 legislative proposals since 2014 to ban gender and sexuality education. As of May 2022, Human Rights Watch has verified that at least 21 laws directly or indirectly prohibiting gender and sexuality education were still in effect in the country.

Edited by Tanya Ott

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 21, 2023 02:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).