School district pulls 'To Kill A Mockingbird' from reading list; 'makes people uncomfortable'

Authored by articles.al.com and submitted by guiltyofnothing

"To Kill a Mockingbird" is being removed from a junior-high reading list in a Mississippi school district.

The Sun Herald reports that Biloxi administrators pulled the novel from the 8th-grade curriculum this week. School board vice president Kenny Holloway says the district received complaints that some of the book's language "makes people uncomfortable."

Published in 1960, the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Harper Lee deals with racial inequality in a small Alabama town.

A message on the school's website says "To Kill A Mockingbird" teaches students that compassion and empathy don't depend upon race or education. Holloway says other books can teach the same lessons.

The book remains in Biloxi school libraries.

Mayo_Whales on October 14th, 2017 at 15:48 UTC »

"You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them." - Ray Bradbury

madison_rogue on October 14th, 2017 at 14:57 UTC »

Sun Herald received a email from a concerned reader who said the decision was made “mid-lesson plan, the students will not be allowed to finish the reading of ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ .... due to the use of the ‘N’ word.”

The reader said, “I think it is one of the most disturbing examples of censorship I have ever heard, in that the themes in the story humanize all people regardless of their social status, education level, intellect, and of course, race. It would be difficult to find a time when it was more relevant than in days like these.”

From the original article.

What I find most disturbing is the ease at which the Biloxi school board pulled the book from the reading list based on this type of complaint.

RainyDayRose on October 14th, 2017 at 14:25 UTC »

The whole idea is that it is supposed to make people uncomfortable. Students will never learn if they are never challenged.