Black Boy by Richard Wright
A memoir of a great writer dealing with racial issues, poverty, domestic violence, and a lot of moving around and learning.
Banned
1972 - Michigan - After parents objected to sexual overtones and claimed it was unsuitable for teens, it was removed from classrooms.
1975
Louisiana - East Baton Rouge schools retained the book after it was challenged for "obscenity, filth, and pornography."
Tennessee - Removed from schools for being obscene, instigating hatred between the races, and encouraging immorality.
1976 - New York - Restricted with parental approval at the Island Trees New York Union Free School District High School library until the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on June 25, 1982.
1987 - Nebraska
Challenged in Lincoln school libraries for "corruptive, obscene nature."
Nebraska Governor Kay Orr's "kitchen cabinet" called for the novel's removal from library shelves citing use of profanity and incidents of violence.
1996 - Texas - After a challenge the book was too violent, Round Rock Independent High School retained the book on its reading list
1997 - Florida - A minister challenged the book in the Jacksonville public schools, saying the book contains "profanity and may spark hard feelings between students of different races."
2007 - Michigan - Challenged in the Howell High School along with several other books for sexual content. The Livingston County prosecutor reviewed the book after the Livingston Organization for Values in Education (LOVE) president asked for the legal opinion if the book broke laws against the distribution of sexually explicit materials to minors. The prosecutor found that "the explicit passages illustrated a larger literary, artistic, or political message" and did not violate criminal laws.
Sources
ALA. "Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009." Retrieved on 17 Aug 01 from http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/top-100-bannedchallenged-books-2000-2009
Doyle, Robert P. Banned Books: Challenging Our Freedom to Read. ALA. 2014.
Wright, Richard. Black Boy. Harper Perennial Modern Classics. New York, 2006 (1945).
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