why

=Where and for what reasons has //To Kill a Mockingbird// been challenged or banned?=

Challenged in Hanover, Virginia (1966) because the use of rape as a plot device was immoral.

Challenged in Eden Valley, Minnesota (1977) and temporarily banned due to words "damn" and "whore lady" used in the novel.

Challenged in the Verona Sherill, NY School District (1980) as a "filthy, trashy novel."

Challenged at the Warren, Indiana Township schools (1981) because the book does "psychological damage to the positive integration process" and "represents institutionalized racism under the guise of good literature." After unsuccessfully banning Lee's novel, three black parents resigned from the township human relations advisory council.

Challenged in the Waukegan, Illinois School District (1984) because the novel used the word "nigger."

Challenged in the Kansas City, MO Junior High Schools (1985) because the novel "contains profanity and racial slurs."

Retained on a supplemental eighth grade reading list in the Casa Grande, Arizona Elementary School District (1985), despite the protests by black parents and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People who charged the book was unfit for junior high use.

Challenged in the Canadian provinces of New Bunswick and Nova Scotia, stating that "the terminology in this novel subjects students to humiliating experiences that rob them of their self-respect and the respect of their peers. The word "Nigger" is used 48 times."

Challenged at the Santa Cruz, CA schools (1995) because of its racial themes.

Removed from the Southwood High School Library in Caddo Parish, Louisiana (1995) because the book's language and content were objectionable.

Challenged at the Moss Point, Mississippi School District (1996) because the novel contains a racial epithet.

Banned from the Lindale, TX advanced placement reading list (1996) because the book "conflicted with the values of the community."

Challenged by a Glynn County, GA (2001) despite complaints over the years from black students and parents about racial slurs in the text.

Challenged at the Stanford Middle School in Durham, NC (2004) because the 1961 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel uses the word "nigger."

Source: 2004 Banned Books Resource Guide