Censored: Book-banning in America is a Reality
When one thinks about the banning of books, they think about dystopian novels like Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” or Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451”. They think of communist or authoritarian-style governments where The First Amendment ceases to exist and people’s freedoms are limited. Earlier this January, public backlash soared after a Tennessee school board announced that it would be banning Holocaust graphic novel “Maus” from being taught in its high school curriculum.
The banning was voted on unanimously by a school board in McMinn County, Tennessee, on January 10, arguing that the book’s contents are inappropriate for students. According to Lee Parkinson, director of McMinn County schools, “Maus” contains “rough, objectionable language” as well as the depiction of a naked character.
The horrific tragedies of the Holocaust have been widely talked about in schools and are largely taught in middle and high school curriculums. However, antisemitism in America has been on the rise in recent years, with the Anti Defamation League reporting a 12% increase from 2020.
Ariella Mendal, a sophomore at Elon University and a proud member of the Jewish community, condemns the decision made by the school board, arguing that the problem is not just the Holocaust, but a deeper-rooted antisemitic rhetoric that has evolved in the United States.
“The banning of ‘Maus’ in Tennessee is a very unsettling and heavy hearted piece of news to hear. Many Jews hold the same concern. The concern that the event is being erased in history and educators are not doing efficient work to continue to teach about its atrocities. History must not repeat itself, especially in regards to the culture that I am so proud to be a part of,” says Mendal.
Unfortunately, “Maus” is not the only piece of literature that has been censored out of school districts. Across the country, literature containing a range of diverse topics have been banned from school districts. From 2000-2009, the Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books list highlighted 52 that included some kind of diversity and addressed “issues about race, sexuality, and/or disability; or were about non-white, LGBTQ and/or disabled characters,” according to author Malinda Lo.
In 2013, a North Carolina school board voted to ban Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man” because one parent complained and thought that it was inappropriate for teenagers. “Invisible Man” tells the story of a nameless, black man who goes through the societal indignities of being a person of color in a racially segregated world. Fortunately, 10 days later, the board unanimously reversed the vote, and “Invisible Man” was put back onto shelves.
Dr. Anthony Hatcher, professor and Journalism department chair at Elon University’s School of Communications, argued in defense of “Invisible Man” in an op-ed he wrote for Star News back in 2013.
“Do those who wish to ban books from school libraries believe that doing so will shield teens from undesirable language, bawdy images and intolerance? … Let’s hope it doesn’t always take the prospect of book banning to remind us how important reading is, no matter how difficult the subject matter,” says Hatcher.
While Dr. Hatcher does believe that certain literature is age-appropriate and certain books– “Maus” for example– should be taught when students are of a higher maturity, he argues that, “What is often missing from debates like these is context. My friends and I often argue that nuance is dead - either black or white - there are no grey areas. That’s the issue here. People are in their trenches and taking their sides and nothing you say will sway them. That’s unfortunate.”
Another issue raised is the accessibility of these books in marginalized communities if they are to be banned from school libraries. Allison Bryan, director of the Curriculum Resources Center at Elon University voices this as one of her concerns, arguing, “Removing books from classrooms and libraries can disproportionately impact students who identify as members of marginalized groups. If students cannot access books in school, they must purchase books or travel to a public library for access. Some people’s situations don’t allow for that.”
If book-banning in America continues to increase, students will be harmed by the lack of access to knowledge and historical awareness that these pieces of literature provide. Books are portals to the past, and they must be used to help young people curate the knowledge and empathy needed to make necessary impacts in the future.
As Bryan says, “By eliminating access to books, people eliminate access to what Rudine Sims Bishop calls ‘windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors.’ Seeing yourself and others in books is important in building empathy and understanding.”
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