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Banned Books in the News


When I was in high school, some books I was assigned included great works by Shakespeare, Dickens, Shelley, etc. I loved reading and through my teacher's thorough analysis of each novel, my passion for the classics grew. It was a much better alternative to studying a historical textbook because by reading these so-called antiquated novels, I got a glimpse into the past from an artistic and personal perspective. 
       Scott, 2014 (bookriot.com)

However, critics today point out aspects of these books that are not exactly "on par" with the standards upheld in most public schools today, however. It seems that the more schools seek to preserve these traditional works, the greater the opposition comes. From Polk County, Florida to Chicago, Illinois educational communities have taken legal actions against their schools prohibiting the sponsorship of contemporary works of literature. 

For instance, in 2021, Polk County Public schools pulled 16 books from the classrooms after receiving a complaint from a group called County Citizens Defending Freedom. The district representative Jason Geary explained that when a book gets challenged, a panel is established to review it to determine if it follows the standards for literature. The group is comprised mainly of parents and community members. In this case, they looked at modern works, such as Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner and Toni Morrison's Beloved. 
                                                                  Bolton, 2019 (sweatpantsandcoffee.com)


Similarly, Wentzville School District in Missouri faced backlash for restricting eight books on the basis that, "[T]hey discuss issues surrounding race, gender and sexual identity" (Musa, 2022). In response, two students appealed to the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri (ACLU) to sue the district. The case is still under review, but it comes at a time when schools across the nation are, according to ACLU representative Tony Rothert on a "book-banning spree" (2022). A month before the lawsuit came to the attention of the district, the Wentzville school board permanently removed Morrison's The Bluest Eyes from their libraries. A pattern starts to emerge with the types of books being banned, however, as they tend to feature characters and ideas with modern attributes, while the authors generally come from diverse backgrounds. 

The Chicago Tribune reports various incidents of books being censored, challenged, or outright banned for their explicit content. As reporters Hollingsworth and Italie state, "According to PEN America, which has been tracking legislation around the country, dozens of bills have been proposed that restrict classroom reading and discussion. Virtually all of the laws focus on sexuality, gender identity or race" (2022). PEN- a non-profit organization for the advancement of literature in correspondence with social justice- and other similar groups promote anti-banning efforts, whether that is full-scale (such as a lawsuit) or book clubs featuring censored works. 

Overall, establishing age-appropriate books in an educational setting is anything but partisan at this point. So, what can we as English majors and reading-enthusiasts do to scour the (literature) playing field in order to find books that maintain district standards while supporting positive messages and ideas? In this series of posts, I will attempt to answer this question as best I can by providing examples of controversial books, explaining how they found a place on the "condemned" list, and what we can learn from such accusations going forward. 

                          
                                   BrainyQuote (bing.com)                     

                        




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