Over the past decade, more American book classics and short stories have been banned from school and public libraries because of contents and some words being deemed inappropriate for children and offensive to some political interest groups. Because of liberal agendas, these books are removed from circulation and sold to people who would like to harbor as classics their contents.

America has moved into a zone that it will soon not be able to retrieve itself from. The old saying goes, "be careful what you ask for." The fact that certain books have been banned from public reach will definitely bring more controversial issues to the forefront such as challenging whether or not the contents of such stories as the Harry Potter series is sufficient for young children.

It is baffling how the media can promote a book based on sorcery and witchcraft such as Harry Potter when people who hold the exact same agenda (liberal), yet on a different spectrum are banning the same type books.

Soon there will be challenges to content written by anyone who could possibly offend anyone else, which will eventually lead to a censoring of what we can write and speak. This is certainly an intrusion to the Constitutional right of free speech. The solution is simpler than what society has decided to use as a solution, which is, if someone does not like what a book's contents reveals, they do not have to read it.

Stormy Weather Joins Muggles for Harry Potter
"The people of Family Friendly Libraries are working to remove JK Rowling's Harry Potter books-- Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and the new Harry Potter #4-- from library shelves all over the USA."

A Selection of Challenged or Banned Books, 1993-1996

Each year a listing of currently challenged or banned books is published. The following is a selection of some books listed in the past several years.

"Objectionable"
American Heritage Dictionary. Dell; Houghton.
Challenged, but retained in the Churchill County, Nev. school libraries (1993). The controversy began after another dictionary was removed due to "objectionable language." It was removed from, and later returned to, classrooms in Washoe County.

"Lurid"
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Maya Angelou; Bantam.
Challenged at the Westwood High School in Austin, Tex. (1994) because the book is pornographic, contains profanity, and encourages premarital sex and homosexuality. The Superintendent later ruled that parents must first give their children permission to be taught potentially controversial literature. Retained as required reading for all of Dowling High School's sophomores in Des Moines, Iowa (1994). The book became and issue after a parent objected to what he said was inappropriately explicit sexual scenes. Challenged as part of the Ponderosa High School curriculum in Castle Rock, Colo. (1994) because it is "a lurid tale of sexual perversion."

"Profane"
The Handmaid's Tale. Margaret Atwood; Fawcett, Houghton.
Removed from the Chicopee, Mass. High School English class reading list (1993) because it contains profanity and sex.

"Hardcore"
Clan of the Cave Bear. Jean Auel; Coronet.
Challenged, but retained from the Moorpark High School recommended reading list in Simi Valley, Calif. (1993) despite objections that it contains "hardcore graphic sexual content."

"Vulgar"
Changing Bodies, Changing Lives. Ruth Bell; Random.
Challenged at the Council Rock School District in Bucks County, Pa. (1994) because of passages that "undermine parental authority and depict sexual relations in explicit and vulgar language."

"Obscene"
The Bible.
Challenged as "obscene and pornographic," but retained at the Noel Wien Library in Fairbanks, Alaska (1993). Challenged, but retained in the West Shore schools in Harrisburg, Pa. (1993) despite objections that it "contains language and stories that are inappropriate for children of any age," including tales of incest and murder. "There are more than three hundred examples of 'obscenities' in the book."

"Sexually explicit"
Forever. Judy Blume; Bradbury Pr.
Removed from the Frost Junior High School library in Schaumburg, Ill. (1993) because "it's basically a sexual 'how-to-do' book for junior high students. It glamorizes (sex) and puts ideas in their heads." Placed on the "parental permission shelf" at the Rib Lake, Wis. high school libraries (1993) after Superintendent Ray Parks filed a "request for reconsideration" because he found the book "sexually explicit."

"Morbid"
The Graphic Work of M.C. Escher. M.C. Escher; Pan/Ballentine.
Retained at Maldonado Elementary School in Tucson, Ariz. (1994) after being challenged by parents who objected to nudity and "pornographic," "perverted," and "morbid" themes.

"Racial separation"
Jambo Means Hello: The Swahili Alphabet. Muriel Feelings; Dial Books, Puffin.
Challenged by a school board member in the Queens, N.Y. school libraries (1994) because it "denigrate(s) white American culture, "promotes racial separation, and discourages assimilation." The rest of the school board voted to retain the book.

"Encourages sexual activity"
One Hundred Questions and Answers about AIDS. Michael Thomas Ford; Morrow.
Challenged because it encourages sexual activity, but retained in the Eau Claire, Wis. public school libraries (1993).

"Violence"
The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm. Jacob and Wilhelm K. Grimm, translated by Jack Zipes; Bantam.
Restricted to sixth- through eighth-grade classrooms at the Kyrene, Ariz. elementary schools (1994) due to its excessive violence, negative portrayals of female characters, and anti-Semitic references.

"Spells"
Voodoo and Hoodoo. Jim Haskins; Madison Bks.
Banned at the Clearwood Junior High School in Slidell, La. (1992) because the book included "recipes" for spells.

"Negative"
Brave New World. Aldous Huxley; Harper.
Challenged as required reading in the Corona-Norco, Calif. Unified School District (1993) because it is "centered around negative activity." The book was retained and teachers selected alternatives if students object to Huxley's novel.

"Sexual"
Carrie. Stephen King; Doubleday.
Challenged, along with eight other Stephen King novels in Bismark, N.Dak. (1994) by a local minister and a school board member, because of "age appropriateness." Challenged by a parent, and currently under review, at the Boyertown, Pa. Junior High East library (1994). The parent "objected to the book's language, its violence, and its sexual descriptions, as well as what she described as a 'Satanic killing' sequence."

"Racist"
The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Malcolm X and Alex Haley; Ballantine.
Restricted at the Jacksonville, Fla. middle school libraries (1994) because it presents a racist view of white people and is a "how-to manual" for crime.

"Perverted"
Manet. Edouard Manet; Abrams.
Retained at Maldonado Elementary School in Tucson, Ariz. (1994) after being challenged by parents who objected to nudity and "pornographic," "perverted," and "morbid" themes.

"Obscene"
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. Merriam-Webster.
Challenged, but the 1,100 copies of the dictionary were returned to the Sparks, Nev. elementary school classrooms (1993). A sixth-grade teacher objected to the book because it includes obscene words.

"Crude"
The Sound of Waves. Yukio Mishima; Putnam.
Challenged, but retained in the Lake Washington School District in Kirkland, Wash. (1993) despite objections that it is "crude, vulgar, degrading to women, seductive, enticing and suggestive."

"Encourages homosexuality"
The Celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in the Movies. Vito Russo; Harper.
Challenged at the Deschutes County Library in Bend, Oreg. (1993) because it "encourages and condones" homosexuality.

"Vulgar"
Catcher in the Rye. J.D. Salinger; Bantam, Little.
Challenged, but retained at the New Richmond, Wis. High School (1994) for use in some English classes. Challenged as required reading in the Corona-Norco, Calif. Unified School District (1993) because it is "centered around negative activity." The book was retained and teachers selected alternatives if students object to Salinger's novel. Challenged as mandatory reading in the Goffstown, N.H. schools (1994) because of the vulgar words used and the sexual exploits experienced in the book.

"No clothes"
In the Night Kitchen. Maurice Sendak; Harper.
Challenged at the El Paso, Tex. Public Library (1994) because "the little boy pictured did not have any clothes on and it pictured his private area."

"Horror"
A Light in the Attic. Shel Silverstein; Harper.
Challenged at the Fruitland Park Elementary School library in Lake County, Fla. (1993) because the book "promotes disrespect, horror, and violence."

"Violent"
Of Mice and Men. John Steinbeck; Bantam, Penguin, Viking.
Challenged as an appropriate English curriculum assignment at the Mingus, Ariz. Union High School (1993) because of "profane language, moral statement, treatment of the retarded, and the violent ending." Pulled from a classroom by Putnam County, Tenn. School Superintendent (1994) "due to the language in it, we just can't have this kind of book being taught." Challenged at the Loganville, Ga. High School (1994) because of its "vulgar language throughout."

"Obscene"
Private Parts. Howard Stern; Simon & Schuster, Pocket Bks.
Challenged at the Weslaco, Tex. Public Library (1994). A petition, with more than 300 signatures, was presented to city officials asking them to more closely monitor what books the library purchases. The librarian labeled as "too liberal" subsequently resigned. Challenged at the Scott Public Library in Alabaster, Ala (1994). The Shelby County District Attorney called the Stern book "obscene" and threatened to prosecute the library for circulating it.

"Racially charged"
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Mark Twain (Samuel L. Clemens); Airmont, And/Or Press, Bantam, Grosset, Longman, NAL-Dutton, Pocket Bks.
Removed from the seventh-grade curriculum in the West Chester, Pa. schools (1994) after parents complained that it is too full of racially charged language.

"Offensive"
Live from Golgotha. Gore Vidal; Random.
Challenged at the Carrollton, Tex. Public Library (1992) because the book is "offensive and pornographic."

"Lesbianism/homosexuality"
Daddy's Roommate. Michael Willhoite; Alyson Pubns.
Retained at the Dayton and Montgomery County, Ohio Public Library (1993). Removed by Lane County Head Start officials in Cottage Grove, Oreg. (1994) from its anti-bias curriculum. Challenged at the Chandler, Ariz. Public Library (1994) because the book is a "skillful presentation to the young child about lesbianism/homosexuality." Removed from the children's section of the Fort Worth, Tex. Public Library (1994) because critics say it legitimizes gay relationships.

"Profanity"
Native Son. Richard Wright; Harper.
Retained in the Yakima, Wash. schools (1994) after a five-month dispute over what advanced high school students should read in the classroom. Two parents raised concerns about profanity and images of violence and sexuality in the book and requested that it be removed from the reading list.

Further Resources Online
The following are just a few online resources for further information on banned/challenged books and freedom of expression --

American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression -- Foundation interested in the preservation of free expression. Growing site.

Banned Books On-line -- A modest listing of banned/challenged books with links to the full text online.

File Room Censorship Archive Homepage -- Collection of a variety of information on censorship. Includes a section on censorship in literature.

Most Frequently Banned Books in the 1990's -- A listing of 50 titles drawn from the book Banned in the U.S.A. by Herbert Foerstel.

Books That Have Been Challenged -- A summary of challenged titles as reported in the Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom (March 1996 through March 1997); provided by the Christian Science Monitor.

The Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1997 -- A summary of the most challenged titles through 1998 from the American Library Association.

The Boston Coalition for Freedom of Expression -- Homepage for an "alliance of artists, writers, arts administrators, educators, and citizens concerned about censorship, arts advocacy, and the right of all segments of our society to be heard."

MIT Student Association for Freedom of Expression (SAFE) -- MIT student organization interested in freedom of speech. Great resources, including info on censorship on the Internet.

Source from: The MIT Press Bookstore © 2003 by AfroStaff