Report: US Schools Pull More Than 1,000 Different Books

Report: US Schools Pull More Than 1,000 Different Books

The writer's organization PEN America said recently that more than a thousand different books have been banned from United States classrooms and school libraries in the last nine months.

Most of the books dealt with LGBTQ issues and racism¹. And many books were banned under pressure from conservative parents and officials.

PEN created a list of banned books. It includes a book by Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison. Actor and activist² George Takei's book about his experience in a holding camp in California as a Japanese-American child during World War Two was also included.

"Challenges to books, specifically books by non-white male authors are happening at the highest rates we've ever seen," said Jonathan Friedman. He is the director of PEN America's Free Expression Program and lead author of the report.

He said that this level of intensity³ and the success of banning books in the American schools has never been seen before.

In recent months, conservative parents have spoken at school meetings in numerous states to attack books that go against their views. These include books that have a sexual nature or deal with racism in a way that offends some white people.

On April 7, the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight⁴ and Reform held a hearing on banned books and censorship in schools. Earlier in the week, the American Library Association released its own list of banned and challenged books that closely followed the PEN results.

Representative Jamie Raskin, a Democrat⁶, asked both political sides to accept the speech they do not like as well as the speech they agree with.

"If we cancel or censor⁵ everything that people find offensive, nothing will be left," he said.

Raskin pointed⁷ to criticism from the left seeking to remove Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." They want to remove it because it uses a racially offensive word, but the overall meaning of the book is against racism and slavery.

PEN found that 86 school districts had removed 1,145 different books from their libraries over the last nine months. Some were permanently⁸ removed. Others are being investigated.

Morrison's "The Bluest Eye" was removed in 11 school districts. "Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Perez was removed in 16 districts. Both books deal with racism and include sexual content.

The organization said Maia Kobabe's "Gender⁹ Queer: A Memoir," which deals with LGBTQ issues, was removed in 30 districts.

More than two-thirds of the banned books were fiction, not based on true events. But books written about true events including books about the lives of Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr, Duke Ellington, and Nelson Mandela were also removed. Five poetry collections were also banned.

The report said four in ten removals were tied to political pressure in eight school districts in Texas, South Carolina, and Georgia.

Words in This Story

LGBTQ – adj. lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (one's sexual or gender identity)

challenge – v. to say or show that (something) may not be true, correct, or legal

author – n. a person who has written something

censor – v. to examine books, movies, or letters in order to remove things that are considered to be offensive, immoral¹⁰, harmful to society

district – n. an area established by a government for official government business

fiction – n. written stories about people and events that are not real: literature that tells stories which are imagined by the write

1 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

2 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

3 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

4 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

5 censor   

n./vt.审查，审查员；删改

参考例句：

• The film has not been viewed by the censor.这部影片还未经审查人员审查。
• The play was banned by the censor.该剧本被查禁了。

6 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

7 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

8 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

9 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

10 immoral   

adj.不道德的，淫荡的，荒淫的，有伤风化的

参考例句：

• She was questioned about his immoral conduct toward her.她被询问过有关他对她的不道德行为的情况。
• It is my belief that nuclear weapons are immoral.我相信使核武器是不邪恶的。