Gordon Parks: Untitled from Flavio (1977)
Deze week is boekenweek, speciaal gericht op de Duitse literatuur. Ik zal de verleiding weerstaan om titels te gaan noemen, maar stap, als u het werkelijk niet weet, naar een goede literaire boekhandel, in Maastricht is dat De Tribune.
Wilt u persé Engelstalig, dan denk eens hieraan:CHALLENGED AND BANNED BOOKS BY AND ABOUT AFRICAN AMERICANS
Young and Black In America by Rae Pace Alexander
1983—After the Minnesota Civil Liberties Union sued the Elk River School Board, the Board reversed its decision to restrict the title to students who have written permission from their parents. (MN)
And the Walls Came Tumbling Down by Ralph D. Abernathy
1989—Burned protest in Denver because it alleges that Martin Luther King, Jr. was involved with three women. E. Napoleon Walton, the publisher of the Denver Cosmopolitan Advertiser, stated, “[Abernathy] has his freedom of speech, and we have our freedom to burn it.” (CO)
And Still I Rise by Maya Angelou
1982—Challenged at the Northside High School in Lafayette, Louisiana. (LA)
1987—Challenged at the Longview school system in Washington because some “students could be harmed by its graphic language.” (WA)
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
1983 – 2009—Over thirty-five challenges in twenty states since the book’s publication.
2009—Challenged in the Newman-Crows Landing School District on a required reading list presented by the Orestimba High English Department. A trustee questioned the qualifications of Orestimba staff to teach a novel depicting African American culture. (CA)
Another Country by James Baldwin
1963—Considered obscene, the book was banned from the New Orleans Public library. After a year of litigation, it was restored. (LA)
Blues for Mister Charlie by James Baldwin
1980—Challenged in Sioux Falls, South Dakota because it’s “pornographic,” and it “tears down Christian principles.” (SD).
Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin
1994—Challenged as required reading in the Hudson Falls Schools because the books has recurring themes of rape, masturbation, violence, and degrading treatment of women. (NY)
1998—Challenged as a ninth-grade summer reading option in Prince William County because the book “was rife with profanity and explicit sex.” (VA)
If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin
1989—Removed from the St. Paul High School Library because the book contains obscene language and explicit descriptions of sexual activity. (OR)
Tell Me How Long the Train’s Been Gone by James Baldwin
1983—Four members of the Alabama State Textbook Committee called for its rejection because Baldwin’s work preaches “bitterness and hatred against whites.” (AL)
De lijst is lang, zeer lang. Freedom of speech. Wie heeft er steeds een grote mond over, uitsluitend om haat, leugens en smaad te kunnen verspreiden? U kent hem. Hij maakte mogelijk wat in dit land ondenkbaar leek. Fascistische propaganda. Deze te tonen was merkwaardige wijze een doorn in het oog van lieden die uitgetrokken waren om Wilders te bestrijden. Wat doen ze? Ze plegen censuur, al heet dat bij hen anders. De gelijkenissen van hun daden met die van Wilders en zijn getrouwen vallen niet te ontkennen, autoritair en asociaal. Ze hebben zich verzameld onder de naam Krapuul.
