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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

by Maya Angelou

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Why was I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings banned?

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I Know Why the Cage Bird Sings has been banned by some public school districts on the basis of its sexual content, which includes rape, molestation, and homosexuality. It has also been banned for allegedly being anti-white. Since the 1980s, it has been one of the most often challenged books, according to the American Library Association.

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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is challenged pretty often in public schools as having inappropriate content for high school readers.  There are some sexual references which some consider too graphic, including rape, premarital sex and same sex relationships.  Others think there is too much violence (I didn't think so), and some feel the way in which the book deals with racial issues "encourages bitterness towards white people" (Alabama).

As an educator, I have found that any time a book contains mature themes, or content that some find controversial, it is challenged in some way.  School Boards are the most common place a book is banned, and these groups tend to be more reactionary towards literature anyway, and often are made of up religious and social conservatives who are more concerned with what people read than most Americans.

Personally, I make it a point to read banned books.

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Why is I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings banned?

Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Cage Bird Sings has been challenged many times in attempts to ban it from public school curricula in school districts across the country, ranging from Florida to Tennessee to Iowa to California. It was the third most challenged book in the 1990s, according to the American Library Association. It was the sixth most challenged book between 2000 and 2010. By 2010, it had received 39 challenges since the first in 1983, and it continues to be challenged to today.

It was first banned in Alabama in 1983 by the state's Textbook Committee. The committee determined that it should be kept out of the schools because it inspired ''bitterness and hatred toward white people.'' However, most of the challenges to the novel have been based on its sexual content. For example, it was banned by the Bremerton, Washington school district for depicting Maya's sexual molestation by Mr. Freeman. Others have raised objections to its description of Maya being raped at age eight and for its portrayals of homosexuality. In an attempt to ban the book in California, objections were raised that white teachers might not be qualified to teach its subject matter.

Despite some successful challenges, many school districts have opted to retain the novel in their curricula. It has been a flashpoint in culture wars over whether some subjects should be explored or ignored.

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