Extremist politicians and outside groups are attacking our kids’ education. In fact, they’ve become SO extreme that they’ve resorted to book banning. They’ve even tried to ban books about Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks. Well, suburban women aren’t having it. This is not the 1950’s. Every kid should be equipped for the 21st century, and that means learning real history (not fairy tales) and respecting people across our differences. It means ensuring every kid feels safe to learn and thrive at school. Join us to make sure our kids get an honest and accurate education.
Conversations with Banned Book Authors
Frederick Joseph
Jo Knowles
What We Are Reading Next:
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison: Join us for the March Meeting of Banned Book Book Club- where we will be discussing Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye with Dr. Derek Adams, Professor of English Literature at Ithaca College. In Morrison’s acclaimed first novel, Pecola Breedlove—an 11-year-old Black girl in an America whose love for its blond, blue-eyed children can devastate all others—prays for her eyes to turn blue: so that she will be beautiful, so that people will look at her, so that her world will be different. This is the story of the nightmare at the heart of her yearning, and the tragedy of its fulfillment.
Books We Have Previously Read
Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall: Kendall’s central thesis is that mainstream feminism in the United States has been anything but inclusive, despite being “a movement that draws much of its strength from the claim that it represents over half of the world’s population.” It’s been banned for divisive topics.
Beloved by Toni Morrison: Beloved often appears on the most frequently banned book lists, and was targeted by Gov. Youngkin (R, Virginia), during his 2021 campaign. It was banned for sexually explicit material, religious viewpoints, and violence.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas: The Hate U Give is a Young Adult book that focuses on a police shooting of an unarmed Black teenager. It was banned and challenged for profanity, violence, and because it was thought to promote an anti-police message and indoctrination of a social agenda.
All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson: This book is about growing up Black and queer, and always feeling different but not having the words to express it. It’s been banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content, profanity, and because it was considered to be sexually explicit.
Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Pérez: Ashley Hope Pérez wrote her historical young adult novel Out of Darkness to give voice to stories that had been silenced. It’s been banned, challenged, and restricted for depictions of abuse and because it was considered to be sexually explicit.
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury: Fahrenheit 451 is a 1953 novel by Ray Bradbury, set in a future dystopia where books are banned, and firemen set fires instead of putting them out. It has been banned because it “violates religious beliefs” because the Bible is banned within the plotline of the story.
The Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley: The novel’s plot centers on Daunis Fontaine, an 18-year-old girl with a French mother and an Ojibwe father, who often feels torn between cultures. It was challenged unsuccessfully in school districts in Wisconsin for themes of drug use and divisive topics.
Special thanks to Dr. Tasslyn Magnusson for the hours and hours and hours she has put into researching these book bans. Learn more about her here.
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