Report: US Schools Pull More Than 1,000 Different Books
2022-04-12
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1The writer's organization PEN America said recently that more than a thousand different books have been banned from United States classrooms and school libraries in the last nine months.
2Most of the books dealt with LGBTQ issues and racism.
3And many books were banned under pressure from conservative parents and officials.
4PEN created a list of banned books.
5It includes a book by Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison.
6Actor and activist George Takei's book about his experience in a holding camp in California as a Japanese-American child during World War Two was also included.
7"Challenges to books, specifically books by non-white male authors are happening at the highest rates we've ever seen," said Jonathan Friedman.
8He is the director of PEN America's Free Expression Program and lead author of the report.
9He said that this level of intensity and the success of banning books in the American schools has never been seen before.
10In recent months, conservative parents have spoken at school meetings in numerous states to attack books that go against their views.
11These include books that have a sexual nature or deal with racism in a way that offends some white people.
12On April 7, the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform held a hearing on banned books and censorship in schools.
13Earlier in the week, the American Library Association released its own list of banned and challenged books that closely followed the PEN results.
14Representative Jamie Raskin, a Democrat, asked both political sides to accept the speech they do not like as well as the speech they agree with.
15"If we cancel or censor everything that people find offensive, nothing will be left," he said.
16Raskin pointed to criticism from the left seeking to remove Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."
17They want to remove it because it uses a racially offensive word, but the overall meaning of the book is against racism and slavery.
18PEN found that 86 school districts had removed 1,145 different books from their libraries over the last nine months.
19Some were permanently removed. Others are being investigated.
20Morrison's "The Bluest Eye" was removed in 11 school districts.
21"Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Perez was removed in 16 districts.
22Both books deal with racism and include sexual content.
23The organization said Maia Kobabe's "Gender Queer: A Memoir," which deals with LGBTQ issues, was removed in 30 districts.
24More than two-thirds of the banned books were fiction, not based on true events.
25But books written about true events including books about the lives of Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr, Duke Ellington, and Nelson Mandela were also removed.
26Five poetry collections were also banned.
27The report said four in ten removals were tied to political pressure in eight school districts in Texas, South Carolina, and Georgia.
28I'm Gregory Stachel.
1The writer's organization PEN America said recently that more than a thousand different books have been banned from United States classrooms and school libraries in the last nine months. 2Most of the books dealt with LGBTQ issues and racism. And many books were banned under pressure from conservative parents and officials. 3PEN created a list of banned books. It includes a book by Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison. Actor and activist George Takei's book about his experience in a holding camp in California as a Japanese-American child during World War Two was also included. 4"Challenges to books, specifically books by non-white male authors are happening at the highest rates we've ever seen," said Jonathan Friedman. He is the director of PEN America's Free Expression Program and lead author of the report. 5He said that this level of intensity and the success of banning books in the American schools has never been seen before. 6In recent months, conservative parents have spoken at school meetings in numerous states to attack books that go against their views. These include books that have a sexual nature or deal with racism in a way that offends some white people. 7On April 7, the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform held a hearing on banned books and censorship in schools. Earlier in the week, the American Library Association released its own list of banned and challenged books that closely followed the PEN results. 8Representative Jamie Raskin, a Democrat, asked both political sides to accept the speech they do not like as well as the speech they agree with. 9"If we cancel or censor everything that people find offensive, nothing will be left," he said. 10Raskin pointed to criticism from the left seeking to remove Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." They want to remove it because it uses a racially offensive word, but the overall meaning of the book is against racism and slavery. 11PEN found that 86 school districts had removed 1,145 different books from their libraries over the last nine months. Some were permanently removed. Others are being investigated. 12Morrison's "The Bluest Eye" was removed in 11 school districts. "Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Perez was removed in 16 districts. Both books deal with racism and include sexual content. 13The organization said Maia Kobabe's "Gender Queer: A Memoir," which deals with LGBTQ issues, was removed in 30 districts. 14More than two-thirds of the banned books were fiction, not based on true events. But books written about true events including books about the lives of Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr, Duke Ellington, and Nelson Mandela were also removed. Five poetry collections were also banned. 15The report said four in ten removals were tied to political pressure in eight school districts in Texas, South Carolina, and Georgia. 16I'm Gregory Stachel. 17Sharon Bernstein reported this story for Reuters. Gregory Stachel adapted it for our VOA Learning English readers and listeners. 18____________________________________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20LGBTQ - adj. lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (one's sexual or gender identity) 21challenge - v. to say or show that (something) may not be true, correct, or legal 22author - n. a person who has written something 23censor - v. to examine books, movies, or letters in order to remove things that are considered to be offensive, immoral, harmful to society 24district - n. an area established by a government for official government business 25fiction - n. written stories about people and events that are not real: literature that tells stories which are imagined by the write 26We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.