While censorship can harm the mental health of students, librarians, and authors, diverse bookshelves can heal, offering solidarity, community, and hope between the pages.
Emmy-nominated, award-winning, and bestselling Black nonbinary author and activist George M. Johnson wrote one of the most banned books in recent history and experienced the detrimental mental health impacts that followed, from the devastation of hatred to the realities of fearing for their life.
Still, Johnson courageously continues to write books that save lives, and fights to keep books on the shelves of libraries and schools that offer a mirror for every young person to find themselves in.
Q: Tell us about your journey as author of the previous #1 most banned book in America, All Boys Aren’t Blue, a memoir for teens about growing up Black and queer. What was it like for you to courageously share your story, only to have the book banned?
George M. Johnson: I remember the day I got the call that an offer was made for All Boys Aren’t Blue. I was a freelance journalist and working part-time doing accounting, doing everything to make ends meet, and it was one of the best days of my life. Then an “Oh Sh**” moment hit me when I realized that I was going to have to be so vulnerable and so transparent with the world, and that’s scary to know that your story will be out there for the masses to pick apart. But I couldn’t have been more wrong. From the moment it released, I was getting texts and dm’s and seeing so many comments about how the book was helping so many, and how so many were being seen and how for some, the book saved their life.
When the bans started, I thought it would just be a blip on the radar. But then I realized it was a fight that was choosing me and I decided to get very active. I went to school board meetings, and started writing about the bans and became one of the faces of fighting against censorship. I knew I had a duty to every young adult who didn’t feel seen or heard, like I felt as a teenager.
I could’ve never imagined that the book would become one of the most banned books in the last 35 years and the most banned and challenged book in 2024. I sat in my apartment when I got the news that it hit #1 on the banned book list. It was hard to digest. It was hard to sit with how much hatred was in the world simply because I chose to tell my truth. I remember unplugging from social media for a few weeks to really gather my thoughts on how I felt and how I wanted to move forward. I realized that the goal was for me to become silent. So that even when I was hurt or harmed by the attacks on my work, it was still my duty to continue to write and speak out.
Q: As one of the leading voices fighting book bans and censorship, what are your thoughts on the mental health impacts of book banning?
George M. Johnson: The mental health impacts are immeasurable, in my opinion. When one writes a book, they know there may be some pushback a bad review or people who don’t like it. When one writes a book that gets banned, it comes with other dangers that most authors could never imagine. The number of death threats I’ve had is countless. Being approached in an airport by someone who was a book-banning parent who recognized me, and got so loud that I was going to have to fight him. I don’t think people realize the danger of being a creative and an artist is only heightened when you become banned.
So safety is a constant thought on my mind. That can easily lead to being more reclusive. It also makes authors not want to write certain books or subjects, which only hurts the readers who need it. As a writer, we are often isolated as we don’t have co-workers and are often alone when writing. So it’s stressful when dealing with it alone. And that stress can easily lead to a place where it becomes hard to write or hard to create. But I still find a way to break through that every time because I know the importance of storytelling and books save lives.
Q: Why is it important for all children and teens to find stories on the shelf at school and the local library that reflect their own identities and family structures?
George M. Johnson: Can you imagine waking up every day and looking in the mirror and not seeing your own reflection? That’s what it feels like when you can’t pull a book off the shelf that speaks to you and your story and how you can navigate life. Books offer hope and optimism when things are going tough. Books provide fun and excitement on rainy days.
Even more, being seen in a story can fight the loneliness one may feel when they don’t feel represented in their classrooms or in their communities. I remember being 15 and feeling alone and pretty isolated. I wish I had some of the books I’ve written back then so that I knew that I existed somewhere else in the world and that there were people and characters out there like me. Characters that helped me to understand that there were better days ahead and that there was light at the end of the tunnel.
Q: How can readers advocate for diverse bookshelves in their local schools and libraries?
George M. Johnson: We have to be active within our local politics. It all starts there. Going to the school board meetings and requesting certain books to be on the shelf. Making your voice be heard is super important. Also starting book clubs and doing free libraries when the books aren’t on the shelf. Sometimes we have to pick up the gap where funding is missing for these life-saving books to be on the shelves.
Q: As your first adult memoir, And If I Die Before I Wake, is released, what do you hope readers take away from spending time with your story?
George M. Johnson: I really hope that this book helps people to understand the many different versions of self we will go through in life. Like I’ve had versions of myself die many times and you bury those past versions of self. I think this book helped me to go revisit those graves. Show those old versions of self how necessary it was for me to have to go through what I went through to get to this point today.
This book is about self-reflection and realizing the power that comes when we heal ourselves. Our lives are the sum of all the good and the bad, and the ups and the downs. It’s important that we reflect on those things from time to time to help us heal and grow.