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Banned Books in the DC/MD/VA area
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Statue of limitations
We are halfway through Banned Books Week, endorsed by Center for the Book in the Library of Congress and sponsored by American Booksellers Association, American Library Association (ALA), Association of American Publishers, and other associations that have long and respectful titles. You can see the list of all the books that have been challenged and/or banned in the past year, or click on this link for a handy map of all the places where books have been banned.
Looking at this map, I zoomed in on th Washington D.C. area, and even though D.C. did not have any challenged or banned books, the surrounding area did (oddly enough the only states that haven't banned or challenged a book are New Mexico, South Dakota, and Utah....yes the same Utah that has more ice cream parlors than bars). Below are some of the MD/VA banned books from the area:
- People from Loudon County, Virginia and Prince Frederick, Maryland challenged the often banned And Tango Makes Three, a children's picture book with a story about two male penguins adopting a child penguin. Both challenges failed, and the books are in circulation in their respective libraries.
- Parents from Harford County, Maryland challenged and succeeded in removing Robert Cormier's The Chocolate War based on the book's language and sexual and homosexual content. A slew of national organizations including ALA and Pen American Center signed a letter opposing the ban. The Harford County's superintendent reversed the decision to ban the book.
- In North Stafford, Virginia, Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States was challenged in the North Stafford High School AP History class because it was considered by some to be 'un-American, leftist propaganda.' Students also read an essay also read a critical essay of Zinn's book called "Howard Zinn's Disappointing History of the United States."
4 other books were banned or challenged in Virginia, but not in the immediate D.C. area, but the two listed in Maryland are their only challenges. So, I guess Virginia wins?
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