Beloved by Toni Morrison
We read an award winning book about a ghost haunting the life of an ex-slave and then talk about ghosts in the library.
Banned
1996 - Texas - Challenged but retained for violence at Round Rock Independent High School
1997 - Maine - Challenged for language at the Madawaska School District
1998 - Florida - Challenged at the Sarasota County schools for sexual content
2000 - Illinois - After a board member promised to bring Christian beliefs to board decision making at the Northwest Suburban High School District 214, a number of titles were challenged and retained. The board member had based her decisions on excerpts from the Internet.
2007
Indiana - Parents asked for parental permission for student access for five books at the Coeur d'Alene School District
Kentucky - Pulled from the senior Advanced Placement English class at Eastern High School in Louisville after two parents complained of bestiality, racism, and sex. Students had to start over with Scarlett Letter for their AP exams.
2012 - Michigan - Challenged but retained at Salem High School Advanced Placement English classes after numerous considerations of district officials including appropriate for age, accuracy of the material, objectivity of the material, and necessity of covering the material.
2013 - Virginia - Challenged at the Fairfax County schools because parent complained for beastility, gang rape, and an infant's gruesome murder
2016 - Virginia - Came into focus during legislation over whether or not parents should be notified about school materials. Excerpts of the novel were read on the state senate floor depicting the novel as a work of, as Senator Richard Black put it, "moral sewage."
Sources
Doyle, Robert P. Banned Books: Challenging Our Freedom to Read. 2014.
Gawker State Senator Emails AP English Teacher to Offer His Thoughts on Beloved (Too Many Breasts)
Washington Post Fairfax County parent wants ‘Beloved’ banned from school system
Washington Post Why a Va. senator told a teacher: ‘You do not know better than the parents’
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"Dances and Dames"
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0