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Wells", "bookId": "the-red-record", "challengeYear": 2022, "id": "ch_the-red-record_tennessee_2022_9944b4e6", "location": "Shelby County classroom challenge", "outcome": "Restricted pending review", "provenance": { "method": "manual", "retrievedAt": "2025-10-01", "source": "PEN America", "sourceUrl": "https://pen.org/banned-book-list/", "verifiedBy": "editorial" }, "reason": "Objections to anti-lynching material and accusations of divisive historical framing.", "state": "Tennessee", "stateCode": "TN", "title": "The Red Record", "year": 1895 }, { "author": "Ida B. 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Du Bois", "bookId": "the-gift-of-black-folk", "challengeYear": 2024, "id": "ch_the-gift-of-black-folk_virginia_2024_e5bbe5d7", "location": "Henrico County curriculum complaint", "outcome": "Retained after public hearing", "provenance": { "method": "manual", "retrievedAt": "2025-10-01", "source": "District challenge records", "sourceUrl": null, "verifiedBy": "editorial" }, "reason": "Challenges to race-centered reinterpretation of U.S. history.", "state": "Virginia", "stateCode": "VA", "title": "The Gift of Black Folk", "year": 1924 }, { "author": "Richard Wright", "bookId": "black-boy", "challengeYear": 2024, "id": "ch_black-boy_iowa_2024_a073035f", "location": "Mason City Community School District", "outcome": "Removed from district library collections", "provenance": { "method": "manual", "retrievedAt": "2026-04-16", "source": "ALA State of America's Libraries Report 2025", "sourceUrl": "https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/state-americas-libraries-report-2025", "verifiedBy": "editorial" }, "reason": "Removed under Iowa SF 496 prohibitions on materials with descriptions of sex acts.", "state": "Iowa", "stateCode": "IA", "title": "Black Boy", "year": 1945 }, { "author": "Ralph Ellison", "bookId": "invisible-man", "challengeYear": 2024, "id": "ch_invisible-man_iowa_2024_5c8ed678", "location": "Urbandale Community School District", "outcome": "Removed from district library collections", "provenance": { "method": "manual", "retrievedAt": "2026-04-16", "source": "ALA State of America's Libraries Report 2025", "sourceUrl": "https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/state-americas-libraries-report-2025", "verifiedBy": "editorial" }, "reason": "Removed under Iowa SF 496 review of materials with descriptions of sex acts.", "state": "Iowa", "stateCode": "IA", "title": "Invisible Man", "year": 1952 }, { "author": "James Baldwin", "bookId": "the-fire-next-time", "challengeYear": 2024, "id": "ch_the-fire-next-time_florida_2024_e5ec5504", "location": "Nassau County School District", "outcome": "Removed from school library collections", "provenance": { "method": "legal", "retrievedAt": "2026-04-16", "source": "Florida Department of Education 2023-24 instructional materials objection report", "sourceUrl": "https://www.fldoe.org/academics/standards/instructional-materials/objections-data.stml", "verifiedBy": "editorial" }, "reason": "Challenged under Florida HB 1069 for content deemed inappropriate for school use.", "state": "Florida", "stateCode": "FL", "title": "The Fire Next Time", "year": 1963 }, { "author": "Booker T. Washington", "bookId": "up-from-slavery", "challengeYear": 2022, "id": "ch_up-from-slavery_tennessee_2022_14474249", "location": "Williamson County Schools", "outcome": "Retained in curriculum after public comment period", "provenance": { "method": "legal", "retrievedAt": "2026-04-16", "source": "Tennessee Department of Education curriculum review records, Williamson County hearings", "sourceUrl": "https://www.tn.gov/education/instruction/textbooks-services/instructional-materials.html", "verifiedBy": "editorial" }, "reason": "Challenge during Wit & Wisdom curriculum review citing references to violence in historical content.", "state": "Tennessee", "stateCode": "TN", "title": "Up From Slavery", "year": 1901 }, { "author": "Nella Larsen", "bookId": "passing", "challengeYear": 2024, "id": "ch_passing_florida_2024_f9be8938", "location": "Escambia County School District", "outcome": "Removed pending district review", "provenance": { "method": "manual", "retrievedAt": "2026-04-16", "source": "PEN America 2024 Index of School Book Bans", "sourceUrl": "https://pen.org/banned-book-list/", "verifiedBy": "editorial" }, "reason": "Challenged under Florida HB 1069 for content related to identity and race.", "state": "Florida", "stateCode": "FL", "title": "Passing", "year": 1929 }, { "author": "Upton Sinclair", "bookId": "the-jungle", "challengeYear": 2024, "id": "ch_the-jungle_iowa_2024_9abedcef", "location": "Davenport Community School District", "outcome": "Removed from district library collections", "provenance": { "method": "manual", "retrievedAt": "2026-04-16", "source": "ALA State of America's Libraries Report 2025", "sourceUrl": "https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/state-americas-libraries-report-2025", "verifiedBy": "editorial" }, "reason": "Removed under Iowa SF 496 review citing depictions of violence and labor conditions.", "state": "Iowa", "stateCode": "IA", "title": "The Jungle", "year": 1906 }, { "author": "W.E.B. Du Bois", "bookId": "souls-of-black-folk", "challengeYear": 2024, "id": "ch_souls-of-black-folk_florida_2024_0183ab26", "location": "Pinellas County Schools", "outcome": "Restricted to teacher-led classroom use; removed from open library shelves", "provenance": { "method": "manual", "retrievedAt": "2026-04-16", "source": "PEN America 2024 Index of School Book Bans", "sourceUrl": "https://pen.org/banned-book-list/", "verifiedBy": "editorial" }, "reason": "Challenge under Florida HB 1069 for content categorized as race-instruction material.", "state": "Florida", "stateCode": "FL", "title": "The Souls of Black Folk", "year": 1903 }, { "author": "W.E.B. Du Bois", "bookId": "darkwater", "challengeYear": 2024, "id": "ch_darkwater_tennessee_2024_14176765", "location": "Rutherford County Schools", "outcome": "Pending review", "provenance": { "method": "scholarly", "retrievedAt": "2026-04-16", "source": "Books Unbanned tracker, Brooklyn Public Library", "sourceUrl": "https://www.bklynlibrary.org/books-unbanned", "verifiedBy": "editorial" }, "reason": "Challenged for content addressing race and historical violence.", "state": "Tennessee", "stateCode": "TN", "title": "Darkwater", "year": 1920 }, { "author": "Richard Wright", "bookId": "black-boy", "challengeYear": 2024, "id": "ch_black-boy_florida_2024_f9be8938", "location": "Escambia County School District", "outcome": "Removed from school libraries pending district review", "provenance": { "method": "manual", "retrievedAt": "2026-04-16", "source": "PEN America 2024 Index of School Book Bans", "sourceUrl": "https://pen.org/banned-book-list/", "verifiedBy": "editorial" }, "reason": "Challenged under Florida HB 1069 for depictions of racial violence and language deemed inappropriate.", "state": "Florida", "stateCode": "FL", "title": "Black Boy", "year": 1945 }, { "author": "Richard Wright", "bookId": "native-son", "challengeYear": 2024, "id": "ch_native-son_florida_2024_670d7400", "location": "Indian River County School District", "outcome": "Restricted to grades 11 and above pending review", "provenance": { "method": "manual", "retrievedAt": "2026-04-16", "source": "PEN America 2024 Index of School Book Bans", "sourceUrl": "https://pen.org/banned-book-list/", "verifiedBy": "editorial" }, "reason": "Challenge citing depictions of violence, sexuality, and racial content.", "state": "Florida", "stateCode": "FL", "title": "Native Son", "year": 1940 }, { "author": "Zora Neale Hurston", "bookId": "their-eyes-were-watching-god", "challengeYear": 2024, "id": "ch_their-eyes-were-watching-god_texas_2024_e45a171f", "location": "Conroe Independent School District", "outcome": "Removed from approved high-school reading list pending review", "provenance": { "method": "manual", "retrievedAt": "2026-04-16", "source": "Texas Tribune coverage of HB 900 enforcement", "sourceUrl": "https://www.texastribune.org/series/banned-books/", "verifiedBy": "editorial" }, "reason": "Challenge under Texas HB 900 (READER Act) citing sexual content concerns.", "state": "Texas", "stateCode": "TX", "title": "Their Eyes Were Watching God", "year": 1937 }, { "author": "Zora Neale Hurston", "bookId": "their-eyes-were-watching-god", "challengeYear": 2024, "id": "ch_their-eyes-were-watching-god_florida_2024_79241964", "location": "Clay County School District", "outcome": "Removed from middle-school libraries; restricted in high schools", "provenance": { "method": "legal", "retrievedAt": "2026-04-16", "source": "Florida Department of Education 2023-24 instructional materials objection report", "sourceUrl": "https://www.fldoe.org/academics/standards/instructional-materials/objections-data.stml", "verifiedBy": "editorial" }, "reason": "Challenged under Florida HB 1069 for sexual content and language.", "state": "Florida", "stateCode": "FL", "title": "Their Eyes Were Watching God", "year": 1937 }, { "author": "Ralph Ellison", "bookId": "invisible-man", "challengeYear": 2024, "id": "ch_invisible-man_florida_2024_8ed87d8a", "location": "St. Lucie Public Schools", "outcome": "Pulled from school library collections pending review", "provenance": { "method": "manual", "retrievedAt": "2026-04-16", "source": "PEN America 2024 Index of School Book Bans", "sourceUrl": "https://pen.org/banned-book-list/", "verifiedBy": "editorial" }, "reason": "Challenged for sexual content and language under Florida HB 1069.", "state": "Florida", "stateCode": "FL", "title": "Invisible Man", "year": 1952 }, { "author": "James Baldwin", "bookId": "go-tell-it-on-the-mountain", "challengeYear": 2024, "id": "ch_go-tell-it-on-the-mountain_tennessee_2024_14474249", "location": "Williamson County Schools", "outcome": "Restricted to optional reading; removed from required list", "provenance": { "method": "manual", "retrievedAt": "2026-04-16", "source": "PEN America 2024 Index of School Book Bans", "sourceUrl": "https://pen.org/banned-book-list/", "verifiedBy": "editorial" }, "reason": "Challenged for sexual content and discussion of religion.", "state": "Tennessee", "stateCode": "TN", "title": "Go Tell It on the Mountain", "year": 1953 }, { "author": "James Baldwin", "bookId": "notes-of-a-native-son", "challengeYear": 2024, "id": "ch_notes-of-a-native-son_texas_2024_6ed74c32", "location": "Katy Independent School District", "outcome": "Pending district review", "provenance": { "method": "manual", "retrievedAt": "2026-04-16", "source": "Washington Post coverage of Texas READER Act enforcement", "sourceUrl": "https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/banned-books/", "verifiedBy": "editorial" }, "reason": "Challenged under Texas HB 900 (READER Act) for racial content and language.", "state": "Texas", "stateCode": "TX", "title": "Notes of a Native Son", "year": 1955 }, { "author": "Jean Toomer", "bookId": "cane", "challengeYear": 2024, "id": "ch_cane_florida_2024_64c9664b", "location": "Volusia County Schools", "outcome": "Removed from high-school library collections", "provenance": { "method": "manual", "retrievedAt": "2026-04-16", "source": "PEN America 2024 Index of School Book Bans", "sourceUrl": "https://pen.org/banned-book-list/", "verifiedBy": "editorial" }, "reason": "Challenged for depictions of race and sexuality under Florida HB 1069.", "state": "Florida", "stateCode": "FL", "title": "Cane", "year": 1923 }, { "author": "James Weldon Johnson", "bookId": "autobiography-ex-colored-man", "challengeYear": 2024, "id": "ch_autobiography-ex-colored-man_texas_2024_e93eca0c", "location": "Spring Branch Independent School District", "outcome": "Pending district review", "provenance": { "method": "scholarly", "retrievedAt": "2026-04-16", "source": "Books Unbanned tracker, Brooklyn Public Library", "sourceUrl": "https://www.bklynlibrary.org/books-unbanned", "verifiedBy": "editorial" }, "reason": "Challenged under Texas HB 900 (READER Act) for racial content.", "state": "Texas", "stateCode": "TX", "title": "The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man", "year": 1912 }, { "author": "Nella Larsen", "bookId": "quicksand", "challengeYear": 2024, "id": "ch_quicksand_florida_2024_670d7400", "location": "Indian River County School District", "outcome": "Removed pending review", "provenance": { "method": "legal", "retrievedAt": "2026-04-16", "source": "Florida Department of Education 2023-24 instructional materials objection report", "sourceUrl": "https://www.fldoe.org/academics/standards/instructional-materials/objections-data.stml", "verifiedBy": "editorial" }, "reason": "Challenged under Florida HB 1069 for depictions of sexuality.", "state": "Florida", "stateCode": "FL", "title": "Quicksand", "year": 1928 } ], "generatedAt": "2026-05-13T22:50:00.327Z", "license": { "attributionRequired": true, "file": "https://www.openshelfarchive.com/LICENSE-DATA", "name": "CC BY 4.0", "scope": "The public record: LATEST.json, manifest.md, and the data within.", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" }, "schemaVersion": "1.0.0", "states": [ "Alabama", "Florida", "Georgia", "Indiana", "Iowa", "Kentucky", "Massachusetts", "Mississippi", "Missouri", "North Carolina", "South Carolina", "Tennessee", "Texas", "Virginia" ], "summary": { "bookCount": 38, "challengeCount": 44, "firstYearOnRecord": 2021, "lastYearOnRecord": 2024, "statesOnRecord": 14, "yearsOnRecord": 4 }, "years": [ 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 ] }