“To Kill a Mockingbird” or a Book?

To Kill A Mockingbird has been taken out of the eighth-grade curriculum in Southern Mississippi. 
                              Photo By  Amazon

By now many of us have heard that the Classic American novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee has been under some scrutiny in a school district in Mississippi. If you will remember back to the end of September, Concord’s Marsh Library celebrated “Banned Books Week” and this is a prime example of how the practice of banning books is still alive and well.

    The novel has been taken out of the eighth-grade curriculum in the Biloxi School District in Southern Mississippi. USA Today reported that the text was pulled “after receiving complaints that some of the language in the book made some uncomfortable.” “To Kill a Mockingbird” is no stranger to the threat of challenge or being banned as it was on the Top 100 Banned Books list from 2000-2009 at number 21. The Pulitzer Prize winning book explores racial inequality in a small Southern town during the 1930s, and as such uses derogatory terms that were common during that era.

    First, it is important to understand the difference between challenging and banning books. Currently, “To Kill a Mockingbird” is only removed from the required reading curriculum in the Biloxi School District, but this could turn into a challenge or banning situation quickly. If it comes to that, the school board could vote to ban the book and it would be removed from all shelves in the school district.

    The public outrage at the challenge of the book was evident all over Twitter as people wrote things like “hmmm doesn’t the Bible make many people uncomfortable? Lord have mercy.” Noteworthy critics of the decision including Mary Beth Schnieder stated “If ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ makes you uncomfortable you may want to contemplate your life & search your soul.” Or Stan Lehr who said, “If ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ makes you uncomfortable, you are the target audience.”

    Even more esteemed figures chimed in on the conversation. Former Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, who served under President Obama, stated, “When school districts remove ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ from the reading list, we know we have real problems.” Republican Senator Ben Sasse from Nebraska also offered his opinion by stating both that the situation was “terrible” and “It’s one of our few shared stories - in a nation with far too few shared stories right now.”

    For me personally, I very strongly oppose the idea and practice of challenging or banning books. If someone is allowed to censor what we are able to read, just think of what else they could censor. For a book to be challenged or banned, anyone can say that they do not like it and it ruins things for everyone. How does the choice to censor literature not conflict with the First Amendment? One could argue that this act is an infringement on those personal freedoms of expression and speech that we hold so dear. It is critical that we become aware of these situations because if we let them go without notice then they will continue to happen.

    Furthermore, this text is a stronghold in my education. I read excerpts in middle school, did an entire analysis project in high school, and now in college I have even been required to read it again. This cannot be a coincidence. All three programs were very different as were the instructors, and yet they all chose that text based on the richness of the content within. I find that the text holds a great deal of historical value, as well as holds a greater lesson within its pages. Yes, it contains offensive language but it is within an important historical context. Harper Lee wrote about events that occurred during her own lifetime, and since she was there, she would have been familiar with what language was commonly used. It is that fact and that language that helps the book maintain its authentic voice from the period.

    As of now, the book is still available in the school library. The board has also not received a formal request to reconsider their use of the text. This may just be me, but if this text has been able to withstand the test of time and remain a relevant novel, then who is the Biloxi School District to try to change that.