It is unfathomable to an outsider that the country, that values the right to free speech so highly and fights for democracy throughout the world, should embark on a process of systematic book banning. And yet America is.

Wieden + Kennedy and Courageous Conversation Global Foundation, a non-profit working to promote racial equity and social justice, have launched a campaign that aims to inform Americans that these bans will have serious consequences on current and future generations, particularly in marginalised communities. Their campaign, America Erased, aims to be the catalyst for a movement that fights for an education system that allows students to learn about their nation’s accurate history and to read the words of trailblazers such as Dr Martin Luther King and Ruby Bridges.

The campaign film was directed by Riss Raff Films director, Omar Jones, and is supported by a website and social posters that show key historical figures erased from history books.

In the 2021-22 school year, 2,500 books were banned across 32 states in the US and according to World Population Review, that number increased by 33% in the 2022-23 school year. Recently, Florida barred the use of state and federal funds for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs at state universities.