Marshall University does not ban books! The information is provided to let people know what has been banned/challenged elsewhere.
2022
At the Bedford County (VA) Public Schools, Moms for Liberty challenged The Bluest Eye along with Beloved, also by Toni Morrison, plus The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, #MurderTrending by Gretchen McNeil, Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan, All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson, What My Mother Doesn’t Know by Sonya Sones, Rick by Alex Gino, Freakboy by Kristin Elizabeth Clark, Love Drugged by James Klise, and Beautiful Music for Ugly Children by Kristin Cronn-Mills. The group said it objected to graphic depictions of sexual acts, violence, substance use, and LGBTQIA+ representation. Board members cited policy, which limited challenges to one book at a time. BCPS administrators and book review committees made the decision not to remove any of the challenged titles from school libraries.
2019
This was one of four books challenged by public petition in Orange City’s (IA)
public library. The concern articulated by a coalition of conservative and evangelical community members was that the library was distributing LGBTQIA+ materials to pre-K kids using tax dollars. The coalition requested that the books be shelved separately, segregated from other library materials. One local religious activist checked out the four books, then burned them live on Facebook. Since then, over 200 books were donated to the library, and GoFundMe and Facebook fundraisers raised thousands of dollars to replace damaged materials. All the titles have been retained. The activist was charged with criminal misdemeanor mischief.
2017
Challenged because its cover has an image of two boys kissing, and it was considered to include sexually explicit LGBT content.
2016
Challenged for homosexuality and other reasons (“condones public displays of affection”).
2015
Challenged by a parent in the Fauquier County (VA) public high school library. The book tells the story of Harry and Craig, two 17-year-olds who are about to take part in a 32-hour marathon of kissing to set a new Guinness World Record — all of which is narrated by a Greek chorus of the generation of gay men lost to AIDS.
On These Pages
A Banned book has been removed from a library, classroom, etc.
A Challenged book has been requested to be removed from a library, classroom, etc.
For additional information contact
Ron Titus, titus@marshall.edu
304-696-6575
Last updated
June 22, 2022