A10 EZ RE THE WASHINGTON POST.SUNDAY, MAY 15 , 2022
JULIA TERBROCK/THE
WASHINGTON POST; ISTOCK)ONI PRESS/SIMON & SCHUSTER PANTHEON GRAPHIC LIBRARY/ PENGUIN
RANDOM HOUSEHARPER PERENNIAL JERRYCRAFT.COM PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSEtimes needlessly graphic. Defend-
ers say the books paint truthful
portraits — and help young peo-
ple to see their place in the world.
Either way, the United States is
facing an unprecedented wave of
school book banning. PEN Ameri-
ca, a nonprofit that advocates for
freedom of expression, tallied
1,586 book bans in schools over
the past nine months, targeting
1,145 books.
The American Library Associa-
tion tracked 729 attempts to re-
move library, school and univer-sity materials last year, leading to
1,597 book challenges or remov-
als. For comparison, the associa-
tion counted challenges or bans
of 273 books in 2020, 377 in 2019
and 483 in 2018.
The debate has stretched from
school board meetings to the
halls of Congress. During Su-
preme Court confirmation hear-
ings for Ketanji Brown Jackson,
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) read from
Ibram X. Kendi’s books “Antira-
cist Baby” and “Stamped: Racism,
Antiracism and You.” Cruz insist-1. ‘Gender Queer,’ by Maia
Kobabe
What the book is about: This memoir,
written in the form of a graphic novel,
takes readers along author Maia Ko-
babe’s journey from adolescence into
adulthood, navigating confusing ques-
tions about sexuality and gender identity.
Ultimately, Kobabe comes out as gender
nonbinary and asexual, adopting the
gender-neutral pronouns e, em and eir.
Throughout the story, Kobabe struggles
with crushes, dating and figuring out
who e is attracted to and why. E evolves
from presenting as a girl to presenting as
somewhere between the genders. Ko-
babe also faces painful moments con-
nected to eir own body, such as menstru-
ation and Pap smears. But the story ends
in joy, with family and friends accepting
Kobabe, as e finds happiness in eir own
skin.
Why critics object : The book, which
has faced an enormous number of chal-
lenges, includes graphic sexual scenes
depicting masturbation, a sex toy and
oral sex, as well as depictions of menstru-
al blood and Kobabe’s fantasizing about
having a penis. Critics note that the
discussion and drawings about sex are
not fleeting but are woven into the story,
and they argue that the book is “porno-
graphic.”
One place it’s banned: Waukee (Iowa)
Community School District, in 2021.
Excerpt: “Why am I like this??? Some-
times I feel like my sexuality is broken
and my gender is broken. I feel like there
are all these wires in my brain which
were supposed to connect body to gender
identity and sexuality. But they’ve all
been twisted into a huge snarled mess.”
2. ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ by
Harper Lee
What the book is about: The book,
published in 1960, is set in a fictional
Alabama town during the Great Depres-
sion. White attorney Atticus Finch de-
fends a Black man who is falsely accused
of raping a White woman. Finch faces
down community pressure and a mob set
on lynching his client. The story weaves
the legal drama with the coming-of-age
story of Finch’s young daughter, Scout,
who learns about acting with empathy
and justice in a community beset by
racism and prejudice. The novel won the
1961 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Last year,
New York Times readers voted it best
book of the past 125 years.
Why critics object : Unlike other texts,
this one is typically challenged from the
left. Critics deride its use of racial slurs,
including the n-word, as well as the
centrality of a “White savior” character,
Atticus Finch. They say that Finch toler-
ates much racism in the community and
that, in general, the novel depicts a world
in which racism is the norm.
One place it’s banned : Burbank
(Calif.) Unified School District, in 2020.
Excerpt: “Why reasonable people go
stark raving mad when anything involv-
ing a Negro comes up, is something I
don’t pretend to understand.... I just
hope that Jem and Scout come to me for
their answers instead of listening to the
town. I hope they trust me enough.”3. ‘New Kid,’ by Jerry Craft
What the book is about: This graphic
novel follows 12-year-old Jordan Banks,
an African American from Washington
Heights in Manhattan, as he begins sev-
enth grade at the prestigious and wealthy
Riverdale Academy Day School, navigat-
ing the typical anxieties of middle school
on top of the extra pressure of being one
of the few students of color. Teachers mix
up one Black student with another,
stereotypes run rampant and students on
financial aid are sometimes identified as
such. His new classmates take luxury
vacations and label pink shorts “salmon.”
Meanwhile, at home in his Black and
Hispanic neighborhood, Jordan tries to
stay connected to his roots.
Why critics object : A petition last fall
signed by some 400 parents alleged that
the book was “wrought with critical race
theory,” which holds that systemic racism
is woven into this country’s institutions.
The critics alleged that the book teaches
children that White privilege comes with
microaggressions that should be kept in
check. The objections prompted a school
district temporarily to pull “New Kid”
from school libraries and to cancel an
event with the author. The online event
was later rescheduled.
One place it’s been challenged: Katy
(Tex.) Independent School District, in
2021.
Excerpt: In illustrated speech bub-
bles, Jordan talks with Drew, one of the
few other Black students at Riverdale.
Drew: I’ve been here two months and
people still don’t really talk to me.
Jordan: But you’re one of the stars of
the football team.
Drew: I get lots of high fives and “good
game, Bro.” But it doesn’t really go past
that.... So what’s up with Ms. Rawle
always calling me DEANDRE?
Jordan: I know, right? Some kids even
called me Maury a few times.
Drew: See? Those are the things that
bother me. Like whenever a class talks
about slavery or civil rights —
Jordan: Everyone stares at you, right?
And financial aid!4. ‘Maus,’ by Art Spiegelman
What the book is about: This black-
and-white graphic novel gives a raw,
unsparing depiction of the Holocaust.
Nazi oppressors are rendered as cats;
their victims are mice. The story details
atrocities committed during Adolf Hit-
ler’s Third Reich, including the killing of
infants, and the use of gas chambers and
forced labor. It is based on the experience
of the author’s parents during the Holo-
caust.
Why critics object : In January, a Ten-
nessee school district banned use of the
text in middle school classes. Officials
cited profanity, nudity (of cartoon ani-
mals) and depiction of violence and
suicide. One school board member point-
ed to scenes in which a father talks with
his son about losing his virginity and
where a woman cuts herself with a blade.
One place it’s banned: McMinn Coun-
ty (Tenn.) Schools, in 2022.
Excerpt: Mouse: “That spring, on one
day, the Germans took from Srodula to
Auschwitz over 1,000 people.”
Narrator: Most they took were kids —
some only 2 or 3 years. Some kids were
screaming and screaming. They couldn’t
stop. So the Germans swinged them by
the legs against a wall.... And they never
anymore screamed.5. ‘The 1619 Project: A New
Origin Story,’ by Nikole
Hannah-Jones and the New
York Times Magazine
What the book is about: “The 1619
Project,” first a special issue of the New
York Times Magazine and then a book,
posits that 1619, the year enslaved Afri-
cans first arrived in what would become
the United States, might be considered
the founding of the nation, not the
commonly celebrated 1776. The project
seeks to “reframe American history, mak-
ing explicit that slavery is the foundation
on which this country is built.” It includes
an opening essay by Hannah-Jones look-
ing at American history from a Black
perspective and examining her own
place in the American story. Subsequent
chapters explore American life through
the lens of the Black experience includ-
ing guns, capitalism, criminal justice,
inheritance and culture.
Why critics object : Conservatives, in-
cluding former president Donald Trump,
say it paints an overly negative view of
American history. The project also has
been criticized by some historians for
certain factual errors, such as an asser-
tion that protecting the institution of
slavery was a prime motivator for the
colonists who declared independence
from Britain.
Places it’s banned: All schools in Flori-
da and Texas.
Excerpt: The United States is a nation
founded on both an ideal and a lie. Our
Declaration of Independence, approved
on July 4, 1776, proclaims that “all men
are created equal” and “endowed by their
Creator with certain unalienable rights.”
But the white men who drafted those
words did not believe them to be true for
the hundreds of thousands of Black
people in their midst. A right to “Life,
Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” did
not include fully one-fifth of the new
country. Yet despite being violently de-
nied the freedom and justice promised to
all, Black Americans believed fervently in
the American creed. Through centuries
of Black resistance and protest, we have
helped the country live up to its founding
ideals.These are volumes school systems
don’t want you to read, and whyBY LAURA MECKLER
AND PERRY STEINIn the memoir “Gender Queer,”
readers see author Maia Kobabe
struggling with questions about
identity, sex and life; the author
ultimately identifies as gender
nonbinary and asexual. The kid
version of “Stamped” shows how
racism shaped the lives of five his-
torical figures. “And Tango Makes
Three” is the true story of two gay
penguins that adopt an egg.
All three books have been
called inappropriate for children
and have been subject to school
library bans and turned into ex-
hibits in the culture war. Critics
say they are offensive and some-ed that Jackson explain why those
books are available at the private
school where Jackson serves on
the board.
The recent challenges fall into
several categories. Some of the
challenges involve books dealing
with race, sexuality or gender and
come from conservatives. But not
conservatives alone. Liberals also
have challenged classics such as
“To Kill a Mockingbird” and
“Huckleberry Finn,” saying they
use racist language and character
stereotypes. Recently, a Tennes-
see school district removed a
book about the Holocaust.
The Post counted 10 common
rationales for book bans, along-
side prominent examples of each.banned books