![]() ![]() Johnson, said, “If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the Government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable.” Objections to sex, profanity, and racism in literature are the most common examples of attempts to censor, and most objections occur in schools and school libraries. The American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom estimates that more than half of all challenged or banned books are either written by authors of color or contain content that represents groups or viewpoints outside the mainstream. Not to be outdone, seven bookstores across the United States hosted banned book read-outs on the same night for “A Night of Silenced Voices.”īanned Books Week continues to focus on the diversity of authors and ideas that have prompted a disproportionate share of challenges. ![]() In Washington, D.C., the public library scattered banned books around the city for a scavenger hunt and posted clues on social media. ![]() With support from the American Library Association, several organizations united to host Banned Books Week programs throughout London. The entire country of Ireland, where the Irish Censorship Board banned a book for the first time in 18 years.īanned Books Week 2016 also saw some firsts.Prison libraries in Texas and other states.Public libraries in Toronto and Westmont, Canada.But the range of places where these attempts at censorship occur may surprise you. Many of the locales are also familiar-elementary, middle, and high school libraries, as well as recommended reading lists. A local public librarian built a banned books display that included all of Green’s titles former students wrote to the local paper in defense of the book and John Green encouraged readers to write letters of support to the high school teacher who stood by her decision to use the novel in her curriculum. When John Green’s Looking for Alaska was challenged by a parent in Marion County, Kentucky, educators, students, and even the author rallied to keep the book in the high school curriculum.In his own ironic twist, Radosh wrote a thank-you note to the teacher, saying the permission slip was “a wonderful way to introduce students to the theme of Fahrenheit 451.” Daniel Radosh, a writer for The Daily Show, spotted the irony of his child having to get a signed permission slip to read Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury’s cautionary tale about censorship.In Imperial, Pennsylvania, a fifteen-year-old West Allegheny High School student spoke out about the challenge to Jeannette Walls’ The Glass Castle at a school board meeting, while handing board members a petition signed by two hundred students to keep the novel on the high school’s reading list.In a number of cases, active protests resulted in books being retained in libraries and on reading lists. The decisions about whether to retain the books were made by school boards, courts, and committees. The challenges were brought by parents, by government bodies, and in some cases by school officials. Many of the books were retained through established processes of review. The list includes many titles familiar from years past, as well as newly published books that caught some would-be censor’s eye. A “challenge” is an attempt to remove or restrict a book, whereas a “ban” is the actual removal of the book. This list highlights a portion of public challenges from 2016. Would-be censors, who come from all quarters and all political persuasions, threaten our right to choose for ourselves. Even as we enjoy a seemingly limitless and expanding amount of information, there is always the danger of someone else selecting what is available and to whom. Constitution, the amendment that guarantees freedom of speech and freedom of the press. This freedom to choose what we read from the fullest array of possibilities is firmly rooted in the First Amendment to the U.S. Banned Books Week 2017 continues thirty-six years of celebrating-and protecting-the freedom to read. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |