Book banning has been around as a practice for centuries. The earliest known book burnings are mentioned in the Hebrew Bible (Jeremiah 36), then the burning of Confucian works (and execution of Confucian scholars) in Qin Dynasty China, 213-210 BC. From the 16th century, during the Roman Catholic Counter-Reformation against the Protestants, attempts for non-clergy to read for themselves was seen as a dangerous threat to the church.
In his article The History of Book Banning, author and historian of literacy Harvey J. Graff noted “Once led by the established church, censorship crusades to ban written materials of all sorts are today supercharged by right-wing politicians, radical evangelicals, and supporting activists.” I find it incredulous that book banning still exists as a practice today, though now it is often used as a political tool, with organizations like the American Library Association fighting to keep these tomes intact.
In the early days of book banning and burning, the tactic was to keep the ignorant masses ignorant. The church could keep control of their flock by only giving them information approved by the church, and preventing their citizens from becoming educated. Nowadays, different political, religious, and activist groups use fear in attempts to ban books. Much of the banned material relates to real lives, real situations, and real people, but opponents of this material spout that it will damage our kids, put dangerous ideas in their minds (this is mostly in relation to LGBTQ+ subject matter), and (God forbid) teach them that racism is real.
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/22914767/book-banning-crt-school-boards-republicans
Much like the church’s attempts to control the ideology of the masses, many conservative and fringe groups want to control our kids and keep them from thinking for themselves. We need to be critical thinkers, acknowledge our differences, and not hide from reality.
Cyndi's Media Class 
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