An anti-censorship group in America has reported a flurry of attempted book bannings in the last quarter of the year and has said there are increasing numbers of books being taken off school shelves that deal with race or sexuality or are written by “minority” authors.
The Kids’ Right to Read Project (KRRP) is part of the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) and says in November alone they dealt with three times the average number of incidents. To date in 2013, KRRP investigated 49 book bannings or removals from shelves in 29 states, a 53% increase in activity from last year. In the last half of the year the project challenged 31 incidents compared to 14 in the same period last year.
Acacia O’Connor of the KRRP said, “Whether or not patterns like this are the result of co-ordination between would-be censors across the country is impossible to say. But there are moments, when a half-dozen or so challenges regarding race or LGBT content hit within a couple weeks, where you just have to ask ‘what is going on out there?’”
Among the books which have been complained about were Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Isabel Allende’s The House of the Spirits and Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima.
Most of the challengers were parents of district students or library patrons, though a handful were local or state government officials. Of the more than two dozen incidents KRRP faced from September to December, the majority involved materials used in classroom instruction.
“It has been a sprint since the beginning of the school year,” said O’Connor. “We would settle one issue and wake up the next morning to find out another book was on the chopping block.”
I know what's going on out there.
The Religious Right are rapidly losing ground and are trying desperately to keep the youth from discovering that there is nothing wrong with being gay or not white, before they have a chance to get their clutches into them and poisoning their little minds.
If they want to ban a book full of disgusting sexual imagery, genocide, and attempts to brainwash the youth of America perhaps they ought to start with this one.
Isn't the obvious answer to simply ban these reports that claim books are being banned?
ReplyDeleteBless Me Ultima used to be required reading in NM high schools . I hope it still is.
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU for continuing to expose the violent and ignorant hypocrisy of the American Taliban.
ReplyDeleteOT, but a fun little read
ReplyDeletehttp://crooksandliars.com/2013/12/van-susteren-attempts-explain-concept-free
Let's take a trip back in time to 1996 when Sarah Palin pressured the Wasilla City librarian about book banning and then fired her for not supporting the new mayor.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.adn.com/2008/09/04/515512/palin-pressured-wasilla-librarian.html
Those who can be made to believe absurdities, can be made to commit atrocities. -- Voltaire
ReplyDeleteDoes your school have a librarian?
ReplyDeleteLibrarians are the ones that prevent banning and censorship. But without a librarian, the school library is vulnerable to the whims of right wing parents and administrators that just want to please the parents. Any process in place for reconsideration is ignored with no librarian there to fight for the right to read.
Every year the American Library Associations sponsors Banned Books Week to raise awareness of banning and censorship in this country. They keep statistics of banned and challenged books every year and by all sorts of criteria and categories.
Support your school librarians. Make sure your district doesn't cut them when budgets get tight.
In my district we have 16 high schools, at least 2-3 times that number of middle schools and even more elementary schools. There are 12 librarians in the entire district left. By June 2015 I suspect at least 4 will retire. That will leave 8. Or less.