Let's write about school book censorship

Echo essay from MUKILTEO, Washington KIMA News — Mukilteo schools removed the Pulitzer-prize winning novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" from its required reading list.

"Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird." A lawyer's advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of Harper Lee's classic novel--a black man charged with the rape of a white girl. Through the young eyes of characters Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores with rich humor and unswerving honesty the irrationality of adult attitudes toward race and class in the Deep South of the 1930s.

It's among many classic pieces of literature that schools across the country are choosing to omit from their curriculum. In tonight's Crisis in the Classroom report, we look at the trend and why it's happening.

“I want to learn and get a good grade in this class but it's also kind of weird to be talking about this,” Kamiak High School Junior Esaw Adhana said, adding he remembers uncomfortable moments in school when reading Harper Lee’s1961 Pulitzer Prize novel two years ago. “It's not just language, but it's also, like, the sort of white savior complex." (HELLO? "uncomfortable moments?", just sayin'. Racism is torture for those who are targeted.)

“I think the lessons and ideas of racial injustice are super important, To Kill A Mockingbird, at least how we teach it, is not the best sample. The way we teach it now is just really uncomfortable and almost invasive," Adhana said.

The district board signed off Monday of a request from students, parents and others to remove the book from the ninth grade required reading list, but it remains an option for teachers who choose to use it in their instruction.

“We don't want to harm any students but at the same time we want to have fruitful discussions that are not harmful, but at the same time prepare students as they go on to the next level,” said Mike Simmons, Mukilteo School District Board President.

This vote comes at a time when people from all political backgrounds appear to be stepping up to remove books -- including classics - from school curriculum across the country.

UW Teaching Professor and Assoc. Director of Writing Programs Michelle Liu gave her take: “For me, a classic is not important just because it’s become a classic, but how it helps people in a certain time and place have debates Prizes are always a marker but this book really spoke to the community at that time. Is it still speaking? We’ll see.”

The Washington Education Association said the move gives educators a chance to find more current authors whose books better reflect current community values.

“How do we bring curriculum into those classes in ways that reflect the values of our diversity?” WEA Director of the Center for Racial Social and Economic Justice Michael Pena said.

“I think it is still possible to teach this book to forge a conversation about, ‘How do we talk about racial and class and gender differences?’ But, I think it would need to be taught very different than how it has traditionally been taught as an example of ‘Atticus Finch is the greatest man on the face of this planet,’” Liu added.

Simmons said he knows of teachers who still plan to use the book in their curriculum.

Maine Writer Post Script:  Although there is certainly some racially difficult language spoken in To Kill a Mockingbird, the fact is, the narrative is connected to the relevance of the book's plot.  Harper Lee presents this plot through the lens of two innocent children.  As a result, in my opinion, this book is definitely suitable as required reading for junior high school students. 

Taking action against racism in literature and in practice

This letter was sent to the community that is involved and supports St. Joseph's College in Standish, Maine. I am proud to republish this in the Let's Write blog because the messager blends literature with action. A letter from the President of St. Joseph's College of Maine.

Dear Members of the Saint Joseph’s College Community,

In 1938, the African-American poet Langston Hughes wrote:

James Dlugos, Ph.D. president of St. Joseph's College of Maine

“Let America Be America Again.”

The poem begins

Let America be America again.
Let it be the dream it used to be.
Let it be the pioneer on the plain
Seeking a home where he himself is free.

(America never was America to me.)

Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed—
Let it be that great strong land of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme
That any man be crushed by one above.

(It never was America to me.)

O, let my land be a land where Liberty
Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,
But opportunity is real, and life is free,
Equality is in the air we breathe.

(There's never been equality for me,
Nor freedom in this "homeland of the free.")

Hughes’ poem, using the language of his time not ours, nevertheless captures the emotion of marginalized people of all races who struggled to find a place in early 20th century America. 80 years after Hughes wrote “Let America Be America Again” we continue to see—daily—the images of pain and suffering his poem captured.

I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart,
I am the Negro bearing slavery's scars.
I am the red man driven from the land,
I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek—
And finding only the same old stupid plan
Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.

The killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor and the pain inflicted on peaceful protesters by those in positions of power who should know and be better and by those ready to profit from the suffering of others, are painful reminders of how far we are from the dream of this place.

The poem’s central plea is one we instantly recognize.

O, let America be America again—
The land that never has been yet—
And yet must be—the land where every man is free.


But the events of the past week in Minnesota, in America and indeed the world, have made one thing abundantly clear.

We can no longer simply ask to “let America be America again.”

Each of us, and all of us, need to make America a place where every person is truly free.

By the end of the poem, Hughes’ speaker has come to this realization.

Sure, call me any ugly name you choose—
The steel of freedom does not stain.
From those who live like leeches on the people's lives,
We must take back our land again,
America!

Inspired by the activism of the Sisters of Mercy and their commitment to the critical concern of anti-racism, informed by Pope Francis’ idea of “integral ecology,” and energized by the courage of peaceful protesters, Saint Joseph’s College is committed to this work—the work of building sustainable communities grounded in radical hospitality.

We cannot simply stand and watch in the hope that something else, someone else will let the dream of America be realized.

Through our actions—large and small, direct and indirect—we either advance the dream or we turn our back on it.

Wherever you are today, please join with Monks in our St. Joseph's College of Maine and everywhere to make our communities safer places for all who continue to believe in the goodness and promise of people committed to integrity, motivated by respect, fueled by compassion, strengthened by faith, and striving for excellence and justice.

Sincerely,




James S. Dlugos, Ph.D.,
President
Saint Joseph's College