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Originally Posted by dc_dux
I moved this from the "racist judge" thread. It merits a discussion of its own.
This is a list of books challenged or banned (in schools somewhere in the US by or about African Americans:
This is not to suggest that the above list is representative of all book banning. But does racism play a significant role in banning the books listed above?
WTF is going on when books ranging from Catcher in the Rye to Gossip Girls are banned.
The most frequently challenged books in 2006
The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) received a total of 546 challenges last year. A challenge is defined as a formal, written complaint, filed with a library or school, requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness. What motivates book banning? Are the efforts sincere or a screen for intolerance.
What can (or should) we do about it? |
A HERO AIN'T NOTHIN' BUT A SANDWICH by Alice Childress
in stock at amazon.com
A LESSON BEFORE DYING by Ernest Gaines
in stock at amazon.com
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MALCOLM X by Malcolm X and Alex Haley
in stock at amazon.com
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MISS JANE PITTMAN by Ernest Gaines
in stock at amazon.com
BELOVED by Toni Morrison
in stock at amazon.com
THE BEST SHORT STORIES BY NEGRO WRITERS by Langston Hughes
in stock at amazon.com
THE BLUEST EYE by Toni Morrison
in stock at amazon.com
THE COLOR PURPLE by Alice Walker
in stock at amazon.com
GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN by James Baldwin
in stock at amazon.com
I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS by Maya Angelou
in stock at amazon.com
JUBILEE by Margaret Walker
in stock at amazon.com
Unless we know the specifics as to why each school district arrived at their decision to make certain titles unavailable in their school libraries, we can only assume the criteria used. I'm sure other titles on various topics from a diverse range of authors have also been deemed inappropriate and made unavailable to students at school libraries. There is a difference between banning and being merely unavailable in a public school.
Each and every one of these books are available to anyone in the free market. These titles are also available through my local public library. It appears that anyone who is interested may read these books at any time.