The Archive · Banned Books
Banned Books
Books currently banned, restricted, or removed from American schools, libraries, and federal institutions. The Ledger documents what was suppressed, where, and why.
30 books documented · 945 jurisdictions · 5+ years of bans
The catalog · sorted by ban intensity
Banned 1970-2025 · 116 jurisdictionsThe Bluest Eye
Toni Morrison
Banned 2021-2025 · 86 jurisdictionsAll Boys Aren't Blue
George M. Johnson
Banned 1990-2025 · 77 jurisdictionsBeloved
Toni Morrison
Banned 2017-2025 · 65 jurisdictionsThe Hate U Give
Angie Thomas
Banned 2020-2025 · 54 jurisdictionsStamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You
Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds
Banned 2021-2025 · 47 jurisdictionsThe 1619 Project: A New Origin Story
Nikole Hannah-Jones
Banned 2015-2025 · 41 jurisdictionsBetween the World and Me
Ta-Nehisi Coates
Banned 2020-2025 · 32 jurisdictionsHow to Be an Antiracist
Ibram X. Kendi
Banned 2020-2025 · 28 jurisdictionsStamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America
Ibram X. Kendi
Banned 2018-2025 · 24 jurisdictionsDear Martin
Nic Stone
Banned 2019-2025 · 22 jurisdictionsThe Poet X
Elizabeth Acevedo
Banned 2021-2024 · 18 jurisdictionsGhost Boys
Jewell Parker Rhodes
Banned 1970-2025 · 39 jurisdictionsI Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Maya Angelou
Banned 1984-2025 · 33 jurisdictionsThe Color Purple
Alice Walker
Banned 1980-2025 · 26 jurisdictionsRoll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Mildred D. Taylor
Banned 1940-2025 · 23 jurisdictionsNative Son
Richard Wright
Banned 1990-2025 · 19 jurisdictionsTheir Eyes Were Watching God
Zora Neale Hurston
Banned 1945-2025 · 17 jurisdictionsBlack Boy
Richard Wright
Banned 1990-2025 · 16 jurisdictionsSong of Solomon
Toni Morrison
Banned 1952-2025 · 14 jurisdictionsInvisible Man
Ralph Ellison
Banned 1963-2025 · 14 jurisdictionsThe Fire Next Time
James Baldwin
Banned 2020-2025 · 13 jurisdictionsBrown Girl Dreaming
Jacqueline Woodson
Banned 1980-2025 · 11 jurisdictionsRoots: The Saga of an American Family
Alex Haley
Banned 1953-2020 · 9 jurisdictionsGo Tell It on the Mountain
James Baldwin
Banned 2018-2025 · 21 jurisdictionsThe New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
Michelle Alexander
Banned 2020-2025 · 19 jurisdictionsJust Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption
Bryan Stevenson
Banned 2019-2025 · 18 jurisdictionsLong Way Down
Jason Reynolds
Banned 2021-2025 · 16 jurisdictionsCaste: The Origins of Our Discontents
Isabel Wilkerson
Banned 2021-2025 · 14 jurisdictionsNew Kid
Jerry Craft
Banned 1965-2025 · 13 jurisdictionsThe Autobiography of Malcolm X
Malcolm X and Alex Haley
Book covers via Open Library. Editorial use under fair use.