Embedded Files
Dani discusses books that have been banned at GPHS and why books get banned.
GPHS Book ban
GPHS Book ban
By: Dani Porterfield
By: Dani Porterfield
In the United States, there has been an uprising. Books are currently being challenged in every state and over 10,000 books were banned in US public schools from 2023 to 2024. Even Grants Pass District 7 is riding the trend. This is leaving many people in the dark, with questions like, Why? and Which books?
Books can get legally banned at government, local and organizational levels. Recently, in Grants Pass, books were banned from our school district. But why? Which books? Challenged books can consist of a large number of genres but, according to Columbia University, it is typical that “banned books address issues related to race, gender identity and sexuality — major flashpoints in the ongoing American culture war.” Columbia University later states that these topics are apparent in many of the 10,000 books banned in recent years, along with many others, like those that address sexual violence and other violence-based issues. Grants Pass High School recently banned two books that were previously on the challenged list: All Boys Aren't Blue and Lucky.
All Boys Aren't Blue is a memoir written by LGBTQ activist George M. Johnson and consists of a series of essays about a young man and his Queer Black identity. The book takes place in Plainfield, New Jersey, as well as Virginia. The book addresses the topic of police brutality and gives details about his sexual assault and daily life and how it is affected by his identity. Despite the positive press, the previously discussed topics have led to the book being among the top ten most banned and challenged books in the United States.
Image from: MacMillan Publishers
Image from: Amazon
Lucky is a 1999 memoir by the American novelist Alice Sebold and is an in-depth perspective on how her life was changed and affected when she was sexually assaulted at 18. A tragic story moves into a thrilling, inspiring piece about picking yourself up and moving forward; a quote Sebold pushes forward in the book is: "You save yourself or you remain unsaved", perfectly illustrating those ideas. However, according to The Guardian, the book was pulled from the shelves by its own publisher, Charles Scribner's Sons, after the man she accused of assaulting her had his conviction overturned and is now deemed innocent after serving 16 years. The reversal was based on microscopic hair analysis . Sebold reportedly misidentified the possible attacker in police lineups, as well. After the reversal, she publicly apologized to Broadwater, saying, "I am grateful that Mr. Broadwater has finally been vindicated, but the fact remains that 40 years ago, he became another young black man brutalised by our flawed legal system... 40 years ago, as a traumatized 18-year-old rape victim, I chose to put my faith in the American legal system." She claims that, even though she might be wrong regarding the identity of her attacker, there is still a lesson to learn and that the overturned conviction does not diminish the theme of the book.
There is a huge conversation to be had about censorship and whether or not it is ethical, fair, or even how to go about it, but it is a sticky situation. One side of the argument may believe that people, especially minors, should not be allowed to read books with harsh topics, especially if those books are in a public place of professionalism. Others may believe that all books have a point of education and teach valid lessons. According to KTUL News, the latter idea was addressed by an anonymous speaker at a school board meeting in the city of Union, Oklahoma. The individual spoke about the book Lucky and stated, "In a state with the highest rate of domestic violence in the nation and a sexual assault rate that’s 45% higher than the national average, there are going to be students that live this experience and could benefit from seeing themselves represented in literature." Considering all perspectives, there is not one right answer. Everything is affected by its place and time. There are always biases. Anything can be argued and protested (for or against), but the best action is to educate. Knowing about issues is a crucial skill.
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