Banned Books Week 2021 is Sept 26 - Oct 2, 2021
We challenge you to read a challenged Book!
What is the difference between a challenged book and a banned book?
"A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others." - American Library Association
Banned Books Week 2021 Online Reading Event
CCC is proud to host their 2 nd Banned Books Week Online Reading Event. This event is sponsored by the CCC Library, the Employees of Color Association (EOCA), and the English & Reading Department.
- Wednesday, September 29, 2021
- 2:00 PM to 3:15 PM
- If you are interested in attending, register to attend (event is over) .
- If you are also interested in reading, sign-up to read (event is over) .
- Reader’s selections should be less than 5 minutes.
You can request banned books through the library CCC OneSearch Catalog, scan through the banned books collection on OverDrive, or browse the library display to find a book that speaks to you. We hope to see you there.
Books Unite Us. Censorship Divides Us.
Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores, and libraries. The week highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community — librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types — in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular. Every year, the American Library Association's Office of Intellectual Freedom compiles a list of the most banned and challenged books from the previous year as well as the reason they were banned or challenged.
Resources
Learn more about Banned Books Week
CCC Library’s Banned Books Week LibGuide
Learn more about Banned Books Week, in formation on people who challenge books, legal issues, historically banned books, and ways that you can find out more information and get involved in celebrating the freedom to read.
Banned Books Week Website
Check out the Banned Books Week 2021 website and see the list of the Top 10 Most Challenged Books List of 2020.
List of All Books Challenged or Banned in 2020
A complete list of book titles banned, challenged, or restricted during 2020.
Frequently Challenged Books
Links to Top 10 lists, Top 100 by decade, and bibliographies of frequently challenged books.
Challenged & Banned Books
The following are samples of books found in the CCC library and why they were challenged or banned in 2020.
The Hate U Give
by Angie Thomas
Reasons: banned and challenged for profanity, offensive language, drug use, sexual references, and because it was deemed anti-cop.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
by Maya Angelou
Reasons: banned and challenged for homosexuality, offensive language, racism, being sexually explicit, violence, and being unsuited for an age group.
Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story About Racial Injustice
by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, and Ann Hazzard
illustrated by Jennifer Zivoin
Reasons: challenged for “divisive language” and because it was thought to promote anti-police views.
All American Boys
by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
Reasons: banned and challenged for profanity, drug use, alcoholism, anti-police views, containing divisive topics, and being “too much of a sensitive matter right now."
And Tango Makes Three
by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
illustrated by Henry Cole
Reasons: banned, challenged, and relocated for being anti-ethnic, being anti-family, homosexuality, political viewpoints, religious viewpoints, sexism, being unsuited for an age group, featuring a same-sex relationship, and that it “promotes the homosexual agenda.”
Slaughterhouse-Five
by Kurt Vonnegut
Reasons: banned and challenged for obscene language, depictions of sexual acts, lack of patriotism, being anti-Christian, being anti-Semitic, and homosexuality.
To Kill a Mockingbird
by Harper Lee
Reasons: banned and challenged for racism, racial slurs, featuring a “white savior” character, violence, offensive language, its perception of the Black experience, and being unsuited to an age group.
Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out
by Susan Kuklin
Reasons: challenged for being anti-family, offensive language, homosexuality, LGBTQIA+ content, sex education, political viewpoints, religious viewpoints, being unsuited for an age group, and some libraries removed it from the collection to "ward off complaints."
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
by Sherman Alexie
Reasons: Banned and challenged for profanity, sexual references, poverty, alcoholism, violence, gambling, underage drinking, anti-family, cultural insensitivity, religious viewpoint, and allegations of sexual misconduct by the author.
