It's easy to see how this bookwould be hit again and again with challenges and bans - It's frank discussion of racism and the racial slurs used(as they were used in real life) is difficult to take. I can see how it would be upsetting to some; but the value of the book is in the discomfort it causes; by discomfitting the reader it makes them think and talk and share and learn. And after all, what is the point of a book but to entertain or to teach.
Be sure to check out the notesabout this book under The Catcher in the Rye as well. It was banned in some areas as being "anti-white" - as if the white race needed defending.
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 relations advisory
council.
Challenged in the Waukegan, III.School District (1984)
because the novel uses the word "nigger."
Challengedin the Kansas City, Mo. junior high schools
(1985).
Challenged at the ParkHill, 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.
Challenged at the Moss Point, Miss. School District (1996)
because the novel contains a racial epithet.
Banned from the Lindale,Tex. advanced placement English
reading list(1996)because the book "conflicted with the
values of the community."
Challengedby a Glynn County, Ga. (2001) school board member
because of profanity.The novel was retained. Returned to the
freshman reading list at Muskogee, Okla.High School (2001)
despite complaints over the years from black students
and parents about racial slurs in the text.
Challenged in the Normal, ILLCommunity High Schools
sophomore literature class (2003) as being degrading
to African Americans.
Challenged at the Stanford Middle School in Durham,
N.C.(2004) because the 1961 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel
uses the word "nigger." Source: 2004 Banned Books Resource
Guide.
Challenged in Eden Valley, MN (1977) and temporarily banned due to words "damn" and "whore lady" used in the novel.
Challenged in the Vernon Verona Sherill, NY School District (1980) as a "filthy, trashy novel."
Challenged at the Warren, IN 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 trying to ban Lee's novel, three black parents resigned from the township human relations advisory council.
Challenged in the Waukegan, IL 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, AZ 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, CA 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.
Challenged at the Moss Point, MS School District (1996) because the novel contains a racial epithet. Banned from the Lindale, TX advanced placement English reading list (1996) because the book "conflicted with the values of the community."
Challenged by a Glynn County, GA (2001) School Board member because of profanity. The novel was retained. Returned to the freshman reading list at Muskogee, OK High School (2001) despite complaints over the years from black students and parents about racial slurs in the text.
Challenged in the Normal, IL Community High School's sophomore literature class (2003) as being degrading to African Americans.
Challenged at the Stanford Middle School in Durham, NC (2004) because the 1961 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel uses the word "nigger."
Challenged at the Brentwood, TN Middle School (2006) because the book contains “profanity” and “contains adult themes such as sexual intercourse, rape, and incest.” The complainants also contend that the book’s use of racial slurs promotes “racial hatred, racial division, racial separation, and promotes white supremacy.”
Retained in the English curriculum by the Cherry Hill, NJ Board of Education (2007). A resident had objected to the novel’s depiction of how blacks are treated by members of a racist white community in an Alabama town during the Depression. The resident feared the book would upset black children reading it.
Removed (2009) from the St. Edmund Campion Secondary School classrooms in Brampton Ontario, Canada because a parent objected to language used in the novel, including the word “nigger.