Caution! Some People Consider These Books Dangerous

The Carthage, Mo. public librarian (1991) was directed first "to take the book off the shelf and keep it under the circulation desk" and then "lose it." The incident involving the novel "snowballed" and was one of the reasons why, under protest, the librarian submitted her resignation.

Banned from U.S. Customs (1934). The U.S. Supreme Court found the novel not obscene (1964). Banned in Turkey (1986).

Eliminated from the high school curricula of Buffalo and Manchester, N.Y. (1931). A group of Jewish parents in Brooklyn, N.Y. (1949) went to court claiming that the assigment of Shakespeare's play to senior high school literature classes violated the rights of their childrent to receive an education free of religious bias in Rosenberg v. Board of Education of the City of New York, 196 Misc. 542, 92 N.Y.Supp.2d 344. Banned from classrooms in Midland, Mich. (1980). Banned from the ninth-grade classrooms in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont. until the Ontario Education Ministry or Human Rights Commission (1986) rules whether the play is anti-Semitic.

Challenged in the Tyrone, Pa. schools (1990) because of its use of profane language.

Eliminated from the high school curricula of Buffalo and Manchester, N.Y. (1931). A group of Jewish parents in Brooklyn, N.Y. (1949) went to court claiming that the assigment of Shakespeare's play to senior high school literature classes violated the rights of their childrent to receive an education free of religious bias in Rosenberg v. Board of Education of the City of New York, 196 Misc. 542, 92 N.Y.Supp.2d 344. Banned from classrooms in Midland, Mich. (1980). Banned from the ninth-grade classrooms in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont. until the Ontario Education Ministry or Human Rights Commission (1986) rules whether the play is anti-Semitic.

Challenged at the St. Johns County Schools in St. Augustine, Fla. (1995). Retained on the Round Rock, Tex. Independent High School reading list (1996) after a challenge that the book was too violent. Challenged by a member of the Madawaska, Maine School Committee (1997) because of the book's language. The 1987 Pulitzer Prize winning novel has been required reading for the advanced placement English class for six years. Challenged in the Sarasota County, Fla. schools (1998) because of sexual material.

Barred from publication in the USSR; the author was stripped of Soviet citizenship and deported.

Best Short Stories, Middle Level was challenged but retained in a sixth grade literature class at Hichborn Middle School in Howland, Nebr. (1993). The challenge was directed at the Ray Bradbury story, "A Sound of Thunder," which contained "offensive" language.

Challenged in the Jackson County, Fla. (1981) because Orwell's novel is "pro-communist and contained explicit sexual matter."

The Newbery Award-winning book was challenged as sixth grade recommended reading in Lincoln, Nebr. schools (1986) because it contained "profanity" including the phrase "Oh Lord" and "Lord" used as an expletive. Challenged as suitable curriculum material in the Harwinton and Burlington, Conn. schools (1990) because it contains language and subject matter that set bad examples and give students negative views of life. Challenged at the Apple Valley, Calif. Unified School District (1992) because of vulgar language. Challenged at the Mechanicsburg, Pa. Area School District (1992) because of profanity and references to witchcraft. Challenged and retained in the libraries, but will not be required reading at the Cleburne, Tex. Independent School district (1992) because of profane language. A challenge to this Newbery Award-winning book in Oskaloosa, Kans. (1993) led to the enactment of a new policy that requires teachers to examine their required materials for profanities. Teachers will list each profanity and the number of times it was used in the book, and foward the list to parents, who will be asked to give written permission for their children to read the material. Challenged in the Gettysburg, Pa. public schools (1993) because of offensive language. Challenged at the Medway, Maine schools (1995) because the book uses "swear words."

"Expurgated almost from its first appearance in America, and was still being subjected to revisions as late as 1928. Even editions available today and considered otherwise acceptable avoid some four-letter words." Removed from a senior college preparatory literature course at the Eureka, Ill. High School (1995) because some parents thought the sexual content of some of the tales was not appropriate for the students.

Removed from the Mt. Abram High School English classes in Salem, Maine (1995) because the language and subject matter were inappropriate for fifteen-year-olds.

South Dakota Governor William J. Janklow named three South Dakota bookstores in a $20-million libel suit because the bookstores refused to stop selling Matthiessen's book. A Sioux Falls judge ruled on June 18, 1984 that Mattiessen's work is not defamatory and threw out the case.

The Illinois Police Association wrote (1977) to librarians asking them to remove the book because its characters, all shown as animals, present police as pigs--although in favorable portrayals. Similar problems reported in eleven other states.

Challenged in Wise County, Va. (1982) due to protests of several parents who complained that the book contains sexually offensive passages. Four members of the Alabama State Texbook Committee (1983) called for the rejection of this title because it is a "real downer."

Banned in Ethiopia (1978).

Burned and prohibited in Italy (1497, 1559). Seized by Detroit , Mich. police (1934), still banned in Boston, Mass (1935). Banned in U.S. (1926-1931).

Banned from Trinity College in Cambridge, UK (1859); Yugoslavia (1935); Greece (1937). The teaching of evolution was prohibited in Tennessee from 1925-1967.

Banned in Strongsville, Ohio (1972), but school board's action was overturned in 1976 by a U.S. District Court in Minarcini v. Strongville City School District, 541 F 2d 577 (6th Cir. 1976). Challenged at the Dallas, Tex. Independent School District high school libraries (1974); in Snoqualmie Wash. (1979) because of several references to women as "whores."

"Glorifies teenage sex, drugs, and teen suicide." "Romeo & Juliet has been a target of censorship efforts in public schools not only because of its double suicide but because it allegedly encourages other violence, teen sex, and disobedience of parental authority."

Sources: Media Violence & Free Speech and The Bonfire of Liberties: Censorship of the Humanities

Banned in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Somalia, Sudan, Malaysia, Qatar, Indonesia, South Africa and India because of its criticism of Islam. Burned in West Yorkshire, England (1989) and temporarily withdrawn from two bookstores on the advice of police who took threats to staff and property seriously. In Pakistan five people died in riots against the book. Another man died a day later in Kashmir. Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa or religious edict, stating "I inform the proud Muslim people of the world that the author of the Satanic Verses, which is against Islam, the prophet and the Koran, and all those involved in its publication who were aware of its content, have been sentence to death." Challenged at the Witchita, Kansas Public Library (1989) because the book is "blasphemous to the prophet Mohammed."

Challenged in many communities but burned in Drake, North Dakota (1973). Banned in Rochester, Mich. because the novel "contains and makes references to religious matters" and thus fell within the ban of the establishment clause. An appellate court upheld its usage in the school in Todd v. Rochester Community Schools 41 Mich. App. 320, 200 N.W.2d 90 (1972). Banned in Levittown, NY (1975), North Jackson, Ohio (1979), and Lakeland, Fla. (1982) because of the "book's explicit sexual scenes, violence, and obscene language." Barred from purchase at the Washington Park High School in Racine, Wis. (1984) by the district administrative assistant for instructional services. Challenged at the Owensboror, Ky. High School library (1985) because of "foul language, a section depicting a picture of an act of bestiality, a reference to 'Magic Fingers' attached to the protagonist's bed to help him sleep, and the sentence: 'The gun made a ripping sound like the opening of the fly of God Almighty.'" Restricted to students who have parental permission at the four Racine, Wis. Unified District high school libraries (1986) because of "language used in the book, depictions of torture, ethnic slurs, and negative portrayals of women." Challenged in the LaRue County, Ky. High School library (1987) because "the book contains foul language and promotes deviant sexual behavior." Banned from the Fitzgerald, Ga. schools (1987) because it was "filled with profanity and full of explicit sexual references." Challenged in the Baton Rouge, La. public high school libraries (1988) because the book is "vulgar and offensive." Challenged in the Monroe, Mich. public schools (1989) as required reading in a modern novel course for high school juniors and seniors because of the book's language and the way women are portrayed.

The District Attorney in Boston, Mass. (1881) threatened criminal prosecution unless the volume was expurgated. The book was withdrawn in Boston.

Banned by U.S. Customs (1929), banned in Ireland (1932), Poland (1932), Australia (1959), Japan (1959), and Canada (1960-1962). Dissemination of Lawrence's novel has been stopped in China (1987) because the book will "corrupt the minds of young people and is also against Chinese tradition.

Removed from the Norridge, Ill. school library (1977) due to "nudity for no purpose." Expurgated in Springfield, Mo. (1977) by drawing shorts on the nude boy. Challenged at the Cunningham Elementary School in Beloit, Wis. (1985) because the book desensitizes "children to nudity." Challenged at the Robeson Elementary School in Champaign, Ill. (1988) because of "gratuitous" nudity. Challenged at the Camden, N.J. elementary school libraries (1989) because of nudity. Challenged at the Elk River, Minn. schools (1992) because reading the book "could lay the foundation for future use of pornography." Challenged at the El Paso, Tex. Public Library (1994) because "the little boy pictured did not have any cloths on and it pictured his private area."

Banned in Graves County School District in Mayfield, Ky. (1986) because it contained "offensive and obscene passages referring to abortion and used God's name in vain." The decision was reversed a week later after intense pressure from the ACLU and considerable negative publicity. Challenged as a required reading assignment in an advanced English class of Pulaski County High School in Somerset, Ky. (1987) because the book contains "profanity and a segment about masturbation." Challenged, but retained, in the Carroll County, Md. schools (1991). Two school board members were concerned about the book's coarse language and dialect. Banned at Central High School in Louisville, Ky. (1994) on a temporary basis because the book uses profanity and questions the existence of God.

Expurged at the Venada Middle School in Irvine, Calif. (1992). Students received copies of the book with scores of words-mostly "hells" and "damns"-blacked out. The novel is about book-burning and censorship. After receiving complaints from parents and being contacted by reporters, school officials said the censored copies would no longer be used.

Martin Luther's translation of 1534 was burned by Papal authority in Germany in 1624. Soviet officials stated in 1926, "The section [in libraries] on religion must contain solely anti-religious books," and the Bible was not published again in the USSR until 1956. In 1952 and 1953 Fundamentalists in the US attacked the Revised Standard Version because of changes in terminology. Banned in Ethiopia (1978) as "contradictory to the ongoing revolution." Translations of the Old and New Testament were banned in Turkey (1986). Challenged by an atheist "seeking to turn the tables on the religious right," but retained at the Brooklyn Center, Minn. Independent School District (1992). The challenger stated "the lewd, indecent, and violent contents of that book are hardly suitable for young students." Challenged as "obscene and pornographic," but retained at the Noel Wien Library in Fairbanks, Alaska (1993). Challenged but retained in the West Shore schools near Harrisburg, Pa. (1993) despite objections that it "contains language and stories that are inappropriate for children of any age, including tales of incest and murder. There are more than three hundred examples of 'obscenities' in the book."

Challenged in Eden Valley, Minn. (1977) and temporarily banned due to words "damn" and "whore lady" used in the novel. Challenged in the Vernon-Verona-Sherill, N.Y. School District (1980) as a "filthy, trashy novel." Challenged at the Warren, Ind. Township schools (1981) because the book does "psychological damage to the positive integration process" and "represents institutionalized racism under the guise of 'good literature.'" After unsuccessfully banning Lee's novel, three black parents resigned from the township human realtions advisory council. Challenged in the Waukegan, Ill. School District (1984) because the novel uses the word "nigger." Challenged in the Kansas City, Mo. junior high schools (1985). Challenged at the Park Hill, Mo. Junior High School (1985) because the novel "contains profanity and racial slurs." Retained on a supplemental eighth grade reading list in the Casa Grande, Ariz. Elementary School District (1985), despite the protests by black parents and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People who charged the book was unfit for junior high use. Challenged at the Santa Cruz, Calif. Schools (1995) because of its racial themes. Removed from the Southwood High School library in Caddo Parish, La. (1995) because the book's language and content were objectionable.

Banned as obscene in France (1956-1959), in Argentina (1959) and in New Zealand (1960). The South African Directorate of Publications announced on Nov. 27, 1982 that Lolita had been taken off the banned list, eight years after a request for permission to market the novel in paperback had been refused.

Restricted to sixth through eighth grade classrooms at the Kyrene, Ariz. elementary schools (1994) due to its excessive violence, negative portrayals of female characters, and anti-Semitic references.

The first ruler of the Chin Dynasty, wishing to abolish the feudal system, consigned to the flames all books related to the teaching of Confucius; he also buried alive hundreds of his disciples.

Banned in Concord, Mass. (1885) as "trash and suitable only for the slums"; excluded from the children's room of the Brooklyn, N.Y. Public Library (1905) on the grounds that "Huck not only itched but scratched, and that he said sweat when he should have said perspiration"; confiscated at the USSR border (1930); dropped from the New York City (1957) list of approved books for senior and junior hig schools, partly because of objections to frequent use of the term "nigger." Removed from the Miami Dade, Fla. Junior College required reading list (1969) because the book "creates an emotional block for black students that inhibits learning." Challenged as a "racist" novel in Winnetka, Ill. (1976); Warrington, Pa. (1981); Davenport, Iowa (1981); Fairfax County, Va. (1982); Houston, Tex. (1982); State College, Pa. Area School District (1983); Springfield, Ill. public schools (1988) because the book contained the word "nigger." Challenged at the Berrien Springs, Mich. High School (1988). Removed from a required reading list and school libraries in Caddo Paris, La. (1988) because of racially offensive passages. Challenged at the Sevier County High School in Sevierville, Tenn. (1989) because of racial slurs and dialect. Challenged on an Erie, Pa. High School supplemental English reading list (1990) because of its derogatory references to African Americans. Challenged in Plano, Tex. Independent School District (1990) because the novel is "racist." Challenged in the Mesa, Ariz. Unified School District (1991) because the book repeatedly uses the word "nigger" and damages the self-esteem of black youths. Removed from the required reading list of the Terrebone Parish public schools in Houma, La. (1991) because of the repeated use of the word "nigger." Temporarily pulled from the Portage, Mich. classroom (1991) after some black parents complained that their children were uncomfortable with the book's portrayal of blacks. Challenged in the Kinston, N.C. Middle School (1992) when the superintendent said the novel could not be assigned because the students were too young to read the book because of its use of the word "nigger." Challenged at the Modesto, Calif. High School as required reading (1992) because of "offensive and racist language." The word "nigger appears in the book. Challenged at the Carlisle, Pa. area schools (1993) because the book's racial slurs are offensive to both black and white students. Challenged, but retained, on high school reading lists by the Lewisville, Tex. school board (1994). Challenged in English classes at Taylor County High School in Butler, Ga (1994) because it contains racial slurs and bad grammar and does not reject slavery. The book will be taught in the tenth rather than the ninth grade. Challenged at Santa Cruz, Calif. Schools (1995) because of its racial themes. Removed from the curriculum of the National Cathedral School in Washington, D.C. (1995) because of the novel's content and language. Removed from the eighth grade curriculum at a New Haven, Conn. middle school (1995) because parents complained that it undermined the self-esteem of black youth. Removed from the required reading lists in East San Jose, Calif. high schools (1995) in response to objections raised by African-American parents. They said the book's use of racial epithets, including frequent use of the word "nigger," erodes their children's self-esteem and affects their performance in school. Challenged in the Kenosha, Wis. Unified School District (1995). The complaint was filed by the local NAACP which cited the book as offensive to African-American students.

Found obscene in Boston, Mass. Superior Court (1965). The finding was reversed by the State Supreme Court the following year.

Removed from high school classrooms in Westport, Mass. (1977) and Aurora, Colo. (1976) due to "objectionable" language; removed from two Anniston Ala. high school libraries (1982), but later reinstated on a restriced basis.

Pulled from an eleventh grad classroom at Lathrop High School in Fairbanks, Alaska (1994) by school administrators because "It was a very controversial book; it contains lots of very graphic descriptions and lots of disturbing language." Challenged at the West Chester, Pa. schools (1994) as "most pornographic." Banned from the Morrisville, Pa. Borough High School English curriculum (1994) after complaints about its sexual content and objectionable language. Challenged at the St. Johns County Schools in St. Augustine, Fla. (1995). Challenged on the optional summer reading list at the Lynn, Mass. schools (1995) because of the book's sexual content.

Challenged but retained on the media center shelves of the Polk City, Fla. Elementary School (1985). A student's parent filed the complaint, contending that the story promoted witchcraft, crystal balls, and demons. Challenged in the Anniston, Ala. schools (1990) because the book sends a mixed signal to children about good and evil. The complainant also objected to listing the name of Jesus Christ together with the names of great artists, philosophers, scientists, and religious leaders when referring to defenders of Earth against evil.