D
escribing The Color Purple as a womanist work is like saying the Iliad is a heroic poem. It isn’t merely an example – it’s the defining text of that genre.[1]

Womanism emerged from the work of African-American author Alice Walker. And the term isn’t just a new label for Black feminism. While womanism does have an important relationship to feminism, it’s broader in scope than the earlier women’s movement. Okay. But that still doesn’t tell us what womanism actually is.

Strictly speaking, Walker doesn’t offer a definition of womanism itself. In true writerly (and, quite frankly, womanist) fashion, she shows her reader what a womanist is, leading them to an understanding of it.

Within the collection of her essays titled In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens, Walker explains the origins of the term womanism. She paints a picture of who a womanist is – what kind of moral, mental, and emotional qualities encompass a womanist’s character. She reveals the types of things a womanist loves. Using metaphor, she imparts that womanism is more robust and nurturing than simple feminism. What Walker doesn’t do, however, is provide a strict formalization of womanism.

But, as academics are wont to do, Women’s Studies scholar Layli Phillips has developed the following definition of the movement born of Alice Walker’s work:

A social change perspective rooted in Black women’s and other women of color’s everyday experiences and everyday methods of problem solving in everyday spaces, extended to the problem of ending all forms of oppression for all people, restoring the balance between people and the environment/nature, and reconciling human life with the spiritual dimension.[2]

In the same way Walker leads us to an understanding of womanism rather than defining it, she acquaints us with what The Color Purple is intended to do without putting a label on the genre she has created. And, as Alice Walker herself phrases it… the book’s intent is:

To explore the difficult path of someone who starts out in life already a spiritual captive, but who, through her own courage and the help of others, breaks free into the realization that she, like Nature itself, is a radiant expression of the heretofore perceived as quite distant Divine.[3]

 Therefore, The Color Purple is absolutely a genre-defining womanist novel.

Why Was The Color Purple Banned?

The Color Purple is simultaneously one of the most acclaimed and most banned books in history. Among other accolades, it won the National Book Award for Fiction in 1983, and made Alice Walker the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for literature. Yet, it remains among the most banned books in the United States.[4]

Walker’s work was first banned in 1984 Oakland schools. Donna Green, mother of one of the students there, complained about “explicit language,” saying she was “offended by the book’s subject matter and graphic material.”[5]

The complaints levied against The Color Purple in Oakland have set the timbre for the myriad of challenges ever since.

 Alice Walker had a thing or two to say about the Oakland banning at the National Writers Union and the Black Women’s Forum that same year:

Mrs. Green had not actually read the book, according to the papers; she’d “flipped” through it, scanned at least five pages, photocopied those five, and passed them out to the members of the Oakland school board…

 I feel I know what Mrs. Green was objecting to. When I learned she’d copied and distributed to the school board five pages from the book, I knew which five pages they were…  They are the pages that describe brutal sexual violence done to a nearly illiterate black womanchild, who then proceeds to write down what has happened to her in her own language, from her own point of view. She does not find rape thrilling; she thinks the rapist looks like a frog with a snake between his legs. How could this not be upsetting? Shocking? …

Even I found it almost impossible to let her say what had happened to her as she perceived it without euphemizing it a little. And why? Because once you strip away the lie that rape is pleasant, that rapists have anything at all attractive about them, that children are not permanently damaged by sexual pain, that violence done to them is washed away by fear, silence, and time, you are left with the positive horror of the lives of thousands of children (and who knows how many adults).[6]

As Walker further states, she could have written about Celie’s rape in such “pretty, distancing language that many people would have accepted it as normal” – the way a good number of romance novels do, a genre chockfull of scenarios revolving around “strong,” animalistic male characters, who are also handsome and somehow…  charming.[7] 

Mrs. Green also made it apparent that she “thought sex should be only heterosexual, and not pleasurable or God-inspired.”  Ultimately, as Walker observes, what probably upset Mrs. Green most was “the discovery that there [was] definitely a world view different from her own.”[8]

Most recently – December 2023 – The Color Purple was removed from schools in Orange County, Florida.[9]

What Makes The Color Purple an Important Book?

Alice Walker speaks to the contribution her book makes during a 2012 interview:

Great Literature is help for humans. It is medicine of the highest order. In a more aware culture, writers would be considered priests. And, in fact, I have approached writing in a distinctly priestess frame of mind. I know what The Color Purple can mean to people, women and men, who have no voice. Who believe they have few choices in life. It can open to them, to their view, the full abundance of this amazing journey we are all on. It can lift them into a new realization of their own power, beauty, love, courage. It is a book that unites the present with the past, therefore giving people a sense of history and of timelessness they might never achieve otherwise. And even were it not “great” literature, it has the best interests of all of us humans at heart. That we grow, change, challenge, encourage, love fiercely in the awareness that real love can never be incorrect.[10]

Oprah Winfrey was one of the victimized children Walker alluded to when addressing her choice to use direct, unvarnished language about the sexual violence visited upon Celie. Winfrey first read The Color Purple when she was cast as Sofia in the 1984 film. Telling the story of this experience, Winfrey declared:

The Color Purple changed my life forever. From the moment I read the book—that was my story. Celie’s story was my story. When Celie is writing the letter—‘Dear God, I’m 14 years old, please explain what’s happening to me?’—that was my story.

 Winfrey has revealed that she “was raped at 9 years old by a cousin, then again by another family member, and another family member. [11]

I couldn’t believe that Alice Walker had actually penned a story about a girl who was going through the same thing that I was going through in my life. Somebody else knew how I felt. I related so much to Celie’s story and found hope. [12]

 Winfrey’s response to The Color Purple exemplifies one of the chief reasons why stories like this need to be told. Girls like Celie and Oprah, those who have experienced sexual abuse, need to know they’re not alone. More importantly, they need to realize that what happened to them was not their fault – that they did nothing to deserve it.

But, it isn’t just girls who benefit from reading books like The Color Purple. It’s crucial that young men cultivate empathy. That they recognize women are not a commodity at their disposal. And understand how devastating actions like those described in Walker’s work are.

Young men also benefit from realizing that the hierarchical dynamic at play in The Color Purple, one that facilitates women being dominated and abused by men, is just as harmful to them as it is to the women being abused. And that point is missed if descriptions of difficult events are sugar-coated.

Those who grew up/are growing up on the other side of the proverbial tracks from the characters portrayed in Walker’s work also benefit from reading it. Her book shines a light on unexamined gender, class, and racial strife. It lays bare realities of history that many are trying to erase.

The Color Purple exposes members of majority culture to situations they’ve likely never had to deal with. It’s a window into the daily difficulties associated with being on the receiving end of racism. And, what it’s like to be at the mercy of a court system steeped in racial disparity.

Reading this epistolary novel helps them realize that many of the notions they’ve absorbed about Black history and African-Americans are one-dimensional and myopic –something Walker’s work simply does not allow.[13]

What’s the Difference Between Womanism and Feminism?

In a 1 984 interview, Walker said she chose the term Womanism because:

… it is better than feminism, I chose it because I prefer the sound, the feel, the fit of it; because I cherish the spirit of the women and because I share the old ethnic-American habit of offering society a new word when the old word it is using fails to describe the behavior Only a new word can help it more fully see.[14]

Historically, many first-wave feminists (from the mid-19^th to the mid-20^th century) quite simply ignored the concerns of women of color. These issues were considered questions of race, and consequently a distraction from the fight for the legal rights of women.

During and following the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, second-wave feminism emphasized “sisterhood,” insisting on mutual solidarity to achieve its goals. Though this emphasis appears to be “color-blind,” it effectively isolated feminists of color.

The third wave of feminism (beginning in the mid-1990s) consciously addressed issues of social justice, including racism and classism, in addition to sexism. Despite this expanded perspective and more inclusive activism, it still appeared that feminism did not fully appreciate the importance of intersectionality. And, that the feminist movement remained focused on the experiences of white middle-class (or non-working class) women.[15]

Womanism, on the other hand, situates the Black woman in history and [their development in a cultural context] – in opposition to negative and inaccurate stereotypes common within American society. It also frames the context of her survival within that of the larger community, where the fate of women and that of men are linked.[16]

Her characterization of womanism famously states, “womanist is to feminist as purple to lavender.”[17] This distinction suggests that womanism constitutes a broader movement, one capable of encompassing the wider array of experiences of women of color. And, as such, addresses the complexities of intersectional systems of oppression.[18]

What Are The Attributes of a Womanist?

As noted above, Alice Walker delineates the attributes of a womanist in her collection of essays In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens. The term itself stems from the Southern black folk expression of mothers to their female children, “You acting womanish.” In other words, like a woman. Womanish girls behave in “outrageous, audacious, courageous or willful ways.”

Womanish girls want to “know more and in greater depth” than is considered good for them. They’re “interested in doing grown-up things. Acting grown-up. Being grown up.”

Walker notes that the term is “interchangeable with another black folk expression: ‘You trying to be grown. Responsible. In charge. Serious.”

She further states that a womanist is:

A woman who loves other women, sexually and/or nonsexually. Appreciates and prefers women’s culture, women’s emotional flexibility (values tears as natural counterbalance of laughter), and women’s strength. Sometimes loves individual men, sexually and/or nonsexually. Committed to survival and wholeness of entire people, male and female. Not a separatist, except periodically, for health. Traditionally a universalist, as in: “Mama, why are we brown, pink, and yellow, and our cousins are white, beige and black?” Ans. “Well, you know the colored race is just like a flower garden, with every color flower represented.” Traditionally capable, as in: “Mama, I’m walking to Canada and I’m taking you and a bunch of other slaves with me.” Reply: “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

A womanist also:

Loves music. Loves dance. Loves the moon. Loves the Spirit. Loves love and food and roundness. Loves struggle. Loves the Folk. Loves herself. Regardless.

And finally, as mentioned above, “Womanist is to feminist as purple is to lavender.”[19]

What is the Significance of Purple?

Purple is the color of the Women’s Liberation Movement, and has historically been associated with efforts to achieve gender equality.

In 1908, the color purple represented justice and dignity. Purple also symbolizes support for people who broke down career barriers making it possible for women to work in industries traditionally denied to them.

The significance of this color to the women’s movement of the 1930s was crystallized in Alice Walker’s work of the same name. [20]

And, here’s an interesting thing about the color purple, one that reflects the womanism it has come to represent… as a color on the light spectrum, it can’t exist on its own. And in color theory, purple appears as a line on the edge of the spectrum where the other colors are most saturated, stretching from one endpoint to the other.

It’s the color of relationship, touching all the other colors at the point when they are most fully themselves.[21]

Womanism Within The Color Purple

Alice Walker describes The Color Purple as a historical novel. Not one that starts with “the taking of lands, or the births, battles, and deaths of Great Men,” however. But, diverting from the typical patriarchal concerns, a history that starts “with one woman asking another for her underwear.”[22] Bearing this description in mind, The Color Purple is clearly about the bonding of women.

Walker’s protagonist Celie, whose evolution is depicted over the course of the book, is a product of the intersectional systems of oppression addressed by womanism. And there’s Sofia, who exemplifies defiance, whether against the gender oppression embodied in a husband who tries to make his wife “mind,” or racial oppression from the community’s social order.

Though Mary Agnes is a minor player, what she characterizes is significant. Which is, as her nickname Squeak

indicates, the societal expectation that women are meek and ineffectual, especially around men.

Shug Avery completes the sisterhood, personifying womanism itself. Not only with her audacious, personality, but womanism’s sexual and emotional aspects as well. Being a singer, she clearly loves music, as well as dancing to the blues songs she sings. And her extremely successful career proves she’s more than capable.

Shug also sees God as the spirit connecting us to all of nature. And gives voice to the idea that this spirit made the color purple just to please us, in order to get our attention.

As the face of womanism, she functions as the catalyst for Celie’s development. But as Walker explicitly states, she isn’t writing strictly for women any more than Tolstoy only wrote for Russians.[23]

As noted above, Walker’s work “explores the difficult path of someone who starts out in life as a spiritual captive.” And The Color Purple is indeed Celie’s story. However, in keeping with womanism’s commitment to “survival and wholeness of entire people, male and female,” it also reveals that patriarchy is damaging to men as well.

In Keeping With Womanism, Celie is Situated in History.

The Color Purple opens with a warning from Celie’s stepfather, who had just raped her. “You better never tell nobody but God. It’d kill your mammy.”[24] So, that’s exactly what Celie did – wrote a letter to God about what she has been enduring. Celie keeps writing letters to God, and the structure of Walker’s book is born.

According to Walker, she chose the epistolary structure because “it had a lot to do with understanding the character of Celie.”[25] Someone in Celie’s position would have no one else to tell. And, consistent with womanism, it situates Celie in history. Her position is similar to enslaved African American women, who would have no one to tell but God when something like this happened to them. Walker specifically states, “Celie is very much in this tradition.”[26]

Like enslaved African American women before her, Celie’s babies are taken from her. And, she has no idea where they are, what has happened to them, or even if they are still alive.[27]

.
When Mr         asks for Celie’s sister Nettie’s hand in marriage, their stepfather insists he take Celie instead – a deal that is arranged without Celie’s consent, or even knowledge. This forced marriage parallels the exploitation of enslaved African American women. And the scenario looks for all the world like a slave auction:

Mr.            come finally one day looking all drug out. The woman he had helping him done quit. His mammy done said No more.

 He say, Let me see her again.

 Pa call me. Celie, he say. Like it wasn’t nothing. Mr.             want to take a look at you.

 I go stand in the door. The sun shine in my e yes. He’s still up on his horse. He look me up and down.

Pa rattle his newspaper. Move up, he won’t bite, he say… Turn round, Pa say.

I turn round…

 Mr. say, That cow still coming? [28]

Walker Situates Celie in a Cultural Context As Well

Walker also situates Celie in the patriarchal culture that overlaps African American history. Like so many women before her, this male-dominated culture forces Celie into a position of powerlessness, without the ability to shape an identity. Celie’s lack of identity is confirmed by the fact that her letters to God go unsigned.

Mr.            repeatedly poisons Celie’s sense of self by taunting her, “Look at you. You black, you pore, you ugly, you a woman… you nothing at all.” [29] The pervasive and generational nature of this culture becomes evident in the following passage, when Harpo asks his father why he beats Celie:

Mr. say. Cause she my wife. Plus, she stubborn. All women good for— he don’t finish. He just tuck his chin over the paper like he do. Remind me of Pa.

Harpo ast me. How come you stubborn? He don’t ast How come you his wife? Nobody ast that. [30]

 The passage above isn’t just about Mr.            and his abusive nature. Celie has been at the receiving end of this abusive attitude from the other male authority in her life as well. And, though Harpo does talk to Celie about the conversation mentioned above, his response is to put the onus on Celie rather than consider the question that would acknowledge her personhood.

These tactics clearly work. Celie has been rendered incapable of fighting back, a reality she confesses to Sofia after being called out for telling Harpo he should beat her:

I say it cause I’m a fool, I say. I say it cause I’m jealous of you. I say it cause you do what I can’t. What that? she say.

Fight. I say. [31]

 In an exchange with Mr            ’s sister about standing up to her brother, a defeated and dejected Celie responds with “What good it do? I don’t fight, I stay where I’m told. But I’m alive.” [32] And to add insult to literal injury, Celie is economically dependent on Mr. . Which is precisely the state of voicelessness and negative self-perception this male dominated culture generates.

Shug is Portrayed in the Tradition of Great Blues Women

.
As alluded to above, Walker created the Shug Avery character in the tradition of the great female blues singers of the early 20th century. Mr  brought Shug into his house at a time when she was very ill and no one else would take her in… not even her own mother. Celie, of course, had not been consulted or even alerted to the fact that Shug would be staying with them. But Celie’s reaction is:

Come on in, I want to cry. To shout. Come on in. With God help, Celie going to make you well. But I don’t say nothing. It not my house. [33]

And, as Celie nurses Shug back to physical health, Shug helps Celie heal psychologically. She teaches Celie to love herself, introduces her to a more inclusive form of spirituality, and shows her how to be self-sufficient.

Celie is smitten with Shug. And through the intimate relationship that develops between them, she learns to see her body as something other than the location of her abuse and pain. She also begins to see herself as being worthy of love.

Shug also helps Celie make contact with her sister Nettie, who was driven away by Mr         for refusing to succumb to his advances. Directing his anger at Celie, Mr                                                   hid the countless letters Nettie had written to her over a number of years, leaving Celie feeling more isolated than ever.

When Shug realizes the “letters with a lot of funny looking stamps” she’d seen in Mr            ’s mailbox were probably from Nettie, she hatches a plan to get them to their intended receiver… Celie. [34]

This is the point when Celie finally lets herself feel her anger rather than shutting down:

I watch him so close, I begin to feel a lightening in the head…

All day long I act just like Sofia. I stutter. I mutter to myself. I stumble bout the house crazy for Mr. blood. In my mind, he falling dead every which a way. [35]

 But Shug keeps Celie from doing anything stupid in a fit of rage, and soothes her through the night, helping Celie redirect her anger.

Shug Helps Celie Reconcile with Spiritual Life

Now that she no longer sees her situation as normal or something she has brought on herself, Celie begins to question the patriarchal God she has been raised with. The one she’s been trying to please, seemingly to no avail. The one that informs the societal structures so damaging to her.

Celie tells Nettie in a letter that she doesn’t write to God anymore, and Shug asks why that is:

What God do for me? I ast…

… he give me a lynched daddy, a crazy mamma, a lowdown dog of a step pa and a sister I probably won’t ever see again. Anyhow, I say, the God I been praying and writing to is a man. And act just like all the other mens I know…

If he ever listened to poor colored women the world would be a different place, I can tell you. [36]

 So, Shug introduces Celie to the inclusive, womanistic view of a spirituality where God is in the world around them:

God ain’t a he or a she, but a It. But what do it look like? I ast.

Don’t look like nothing, she say. It ain’t a picture show. It ain’t something you can look at apart from anything else, including yourself. I believe God is everything, say Shug. Everything that is or ever was or ever will be. And when you feel that, and be happy to feel that, you’ve found It.

Shug relates that her first step away from the patriarchal religion she and Celie were both raised in “was trees”:

Then air. Then birds. Then other people. But one day when I was sitting quiet and feeling like a motherless child, which I was, it come to me: that feeling of being part of everything, not separate at all. I knew that if I cut a tree, my arm would bleed. And I laughed and I cried and I run all around the house. I knew just what it was. In fact, when it happen, you can’t miss it. [37]

 Elaborating, Shug goes on to say that this concept of God is “always trying to please us back… making little surprises and springing them on us when us least expect it” – the color purple, for example. [38]

Their conversation about God made Celie realize she had never truly noticed the beauty around her. More importantly, this understanding of God helped to diminish the debilitating sense of victimhood that had defined her identity since she was fourteen years old:

Next to any little scrub of a bush in my yard, Mr.’s evil sort of shrink. But not altogether. Still, it like Shug say, You have to git man off your eyeball, before you can see anything a ‘tall. [39]

It’s interesting to note that at this point Celie begins closing her letters to Nettie with “Amen,” something she never did when her concept of God was patriarchal and judgmental in nature.

Ultimately, Celie did write to God again. As The Color Purple opens with a letter to God, so it closes with one. But this time, Celie’s salutation reflects the inclusive womanist spirituality Shug has opened her eyes to: “Dear stars, dear trees, dear sky, dear peoples. Dear Everything. Dear God.” [40]

Celie’s Financial Independence By Way of Folkspants Unlimited

 Celie acts on her burgeoning sense of self during a dinner when Shug announces she’ll be returning to Memphis, that Celie will be going with her. As usual, Mr             directs his anger toward Celie.

Mr_____ start up from his seat, look at Shug, plop back down again. He look over at me. I thought you was finally happy, he say. What wrong now?

 You a lowdown dog is what’s wrong, I say. It’s time to leave you and enter into the Creation. [41]

Celie’s response is pivotal. Not only because she’s standing up to Mr            , but because the image of entering into the Creation signifies her transformation into someone new. As the Memphis-bound group is about to drive away, Celie spits the words she’s heard so often back in Mr ____’s face, “I’m pore, I’m black, I may be ugly and can’t cook,” finishing with “But I’m here.” Her sense of self has crystallized.

At one point, Mr_____ attacks Celie with the only thing he has left to hold over her head – financial dependence:

You not gitting a penny of my money, Mr. say to me. Not one thin dime. [42]

 Not surprisingly, a lack of Mr            ’s money doesn’t prove to be a problem. Celie is more than capable of supporting herself, when she turns the (significantly unisex) pants she has designed and starts making for friends and family into a full-blown business. And once again it’s Shug, the face of womanism, who aids in Celie’s development. Not only by pointing her an entrepreneurial direction, but supporting and encouraging her along the way.

It’s also noteworthy that Squeak – rather, Mary Agnes – goes to Memphis with them. Her doing so, touches on the importance of having a sense of purpose, financial independence aside:

You going What? say Harpo. He so surprise. He begin to sputter, sputter, just like his daddy. Sound like I don’t know what.

 I want to sing, say Squeak. Sing! say Harpo.

Yeah, say Squeak. Sing. I ain’t sung in public since Jolentha was born. Her name Jolentha. They call her Suzie Q.

You ain’t had to sing in public since Jolentha was born. Everything you need I done provided for. I need to sing, say Squeak.

Listen Squeak, say Harpo. You can’t go to Memphis. That’s all there is to it. Mary Agnes, say Squeak.

Squeak, Mary Agnes, what difference do it make?

It make a lot, say Squeak. When I was Mary Agnes I could sing in public. [43]

 It’s at this point in the story that Celie tells Nettie:

I am so happy. I got love, I got work, I got money, friends and time. And you alive and be home soon. With our children. [44]

Her life and sense of self reflects the fundamental aspects of womanism. Celie’s evolution, and the sisterhood that developed along the way, is now complete.

Womanism Takes the Well-Being of Men Into Account Too

Let’s not forget, womanism also includes the well-being of men. And, that (ironically) patriarchal systems are damaging to men as well as women.

The most obvious example of the detrimental effects male dominant social structures have on men, is the way it destroys Harpo’s relationship with Sofia. Her strong personality was always front and center. And they were very much in love.

But after they married, Mr_____  insinuated Harpo was less than a man because he was lending a hand with their baby. Shortly thereafter, Harpo began trying to “make [Sofia] mind.” [45] Mr_____ advised Harpo to beat Sofia:

Well, how you spect to make her mind? Wives is like children. You have to let ‘em know who got the upper hand. Nothing can do that better than a good sound beating. [46]

It gets to the point where Sofia has finally had enough of having to fight her own husband, so she leaves him. And Harpo is devastated. Not only does he actually love her, unlike the relationship between Mr_____ and Celie, the cultural requirement for a man to dominate his wife leaves him feeling inadequate.

The effect of patriarchy on Mr             is even sadder still. It’s important to note that Celie doesn’t even know his given name, that she refers to her husband by the title Mr                   for the majority of the book. As Celie’s unsigned letters to God indicates she lacks a sense of self, Mr_____ missing a name signifies an absence of personhood. He fulfills the patriarchal expectations of his title, but as the literary device suggests Mr_____  is only the shell of a man, one who is the bitter, vicious, and abusive.

Shug, however, calls Mr             by his given name – Albert. She knows the kind of man he used to be, and could still be if not for patriarchal hierarchy. He was once a vibrant and happy man who was funny and loved to dance, who loved Shug and loves her still.

But, his father didn’t approve of Shug. And, as Albert himself states, “I wanted Shug. But my daddy was the boss. He gave me the wife he wanted me to have.” [47]

Albert buckled under patriarchal pressure. He wound up with a woman he didn’t love, with children he didn’t want, working land that wouldn’t be his until his father passed away. It “ate him alive” as the expression goes, and he passed his misery forward, including a life impaired by patriarchal hierarchy to his son Harpo.

The Larger Effects of Womanism

Ultimately, Mr_____ becomes a changed man. He’s no longer quick to judge. He starts working hard, and even cooks and cleans “just like a woman.” He also learns to appreciate “some of the things God was playful enough to make.” [48] And finally, he and Celie form a genuine bond of friendship. She even starts referring to him as Albert, symbolizing his return to wholeness.

Celie’s departing curse, “until you do right by me, everything you touch will crumble,” clearly had an effect. [49] That, combined with Shug severing relations because he was mistreating someone she loves.

After Celie and Shug went to Memphis, Mr_____ had a rough time of things. He shut himself up in his house. He couldn’t sleep. Harpo would find him “all cram up in a corner of the bed. Eyes clamp on different pieces of furniture, see if they move in his direction.” [50]  In true Poe-like fashion, the worst part was listening to his own heartbeat, which beat so loud at night it sounded like drums.

Harpo finally convinced his father to send Celie the rest of Nettie’s letters. Unbeknownst to him, of course, she had already read them, but he was finally doing right by her. And, it was then that he began to improve.

During Mr            ’s darkest days, Harpo frequently slept with his father to calm his fear about whatever he thought was haunting the house. And, that nurturing image of Harpo reignited Sofia’s feelings for him.

Mary Agnes realized her dream of becoming a successful singer.

And finally, Nettie returns from Africa, and Celie is reunited with her beloved sister and the children who were torn away from her all those years ago. In her final letter, this time to Dear Everything, Celie describes herself:

I feel a little peculiar round the children. For one thing, they grown. And I see they think me and Nettie and Shug and Albert and Samuel and Harpo and Sofia and Jack and Odessa real old and don’t know much what going on. But I don’t think us feel old at all. And us so happy. Matter of fact, I think this the youngest us ever felt. [51]

This sentiment is more than Walker simply wrapping her work up with the proverbial Hollywood ending, however. The Color Purple closes with a womanist concept reflected in Walker’s work The Gospel According to Shug:

HELPED are those who love the broken and the whole; none of their children, now any of their ancestors, nor any parts of themselves, shall be hidden from them.[52]

The people Walker introduces us to in The Color Purple have indeed been helped by the womanism this genre-defining work is grounded in.

That’s my take on Alice Walker’s The Color Purple — what’s yours?

For all you educators, download this free Teachers’ Guide.

#banned books        #Published 1980s      #Women’s History Month    #womanism    #The Color Purple     #Alice Walker

Endnotes:

[1] “Do you agree that The Color Purple is a “womanist” rather than a “feminist” text?” eNotes Editorial, 29 Oct. 2022. https://www.enotes.com/topics/color-purple/questions/do-you-agree-that-the-color-purple-is-a-womanist-3086589

[2] Phillips, Layli. “Introduction. Womanism: On Its Own.” In The Womanist Reader. Edited by Layli Phillips. New York and Abingdon: Routledge, 2006. Pg xx.

[3] Walker, Alice. “Preface.” The Color Purple. New York: Mariner Books Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1992.

[4] Cole, Olivia A. “The Color Purple and the Toppling of American Gods.” PEN America. September 21, 2016. https://pen.org/the-color-purple-and-the-toppling-of-american-gods/

Shaffer, Madelyn. “An Inspiration to African-American Women.” Millersville University. https://www.millersville.edu/africanamericanstudies/jackson-lecture1/alice- walker.php#:~:text=She%20won%20the%20National%20Book,women%20for%20years%20to%20come.

[5] ‘The Color Purple,’ a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, has been…” UPI Archives. May 3, 1984. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/05/03/The-Color-Purple-a-Pulitzer-Prize-winning-novel-has- been/9563452404800/

[6] Walker, Alice. “Coming in From the Cold: Welcoming the Old, Funny-Talking Ancient Ones into the Warm Room of Present consciousness, or, Natty Dread Rides Again!” in Living by the Word. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1988. Pg 58.

[7] Walker, Alice. “Coming in From the Cold: Welcoming the Old, Funny-Talking Ancient Ones into the Warm Room of Present consciousness, or, Natty Dread Rides Again!” in Living by the Word. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1988. Pg 58.

[8] Walker, Alice. “Coming in From the Cold: Welcoming the Old, Funny-Talking Ancient Ones into the Warm Room of Present consciousness, or, Natty Dread Rides Again!” in Living by the Word. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1988. Pg 58.

[9] Briquelet, Kate. “’The Color Purple’ Removed From Schools Under New Florida Law.” Daily Beast. December 21, 2023. https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-color-purple-removed-from-school-classrooms-under-new-florida-law

[10] “Alice Walker: Writing What’s Right.” Guernica/15 years of global arts & politics. October 1, 2012. https://www.guernicamag.com/alice-walker-writing-whats-right/

[11] Morris-Marr, Lucie. “Oprah Winfrey in Melbourne for Australian tour 2015 spreads a message of love, reveals lost child.” News.com.au December 3, 2015.

[12] Chi, Paul. “Oprah Comes Full Circle with The Color Purple: “That Was My Story.” Vanity Fair. December 7, 2023.

[13] King, Amy. “On Alice Walker’s The Color Purple.” PEN America. October 24, 2012. https://pen.org/on-alice-walkers-the-color-purple/

[14] Bradley, David. “Novelist Alice Walker Telling the Black Woman’s Story.” The New York Times. January 8, 1984.

[15] Weida, Kaz. “Womanism.” Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/womanism

Little, Becky. “How Early Suffragists Left Black Women Out of Their Fight.” November 8, 2017. History.com

https://www.history.com/news/suffragists-vote-black-women

[16] Shi, Long. “Womanism and The Color Purple.” Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research,

volume 490. Pp653-656.

^[17] Walker, Alice. In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens. New York: A Harvest Book Harcourt, Inc., 1983. Pg xii.

[18] Weida, Kaz. “Womanism.” Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/womanism

[19] Walker, Alice. In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens. New York: A Harvest Book Harcourt, Inc., 1983. Pg xi-xii.

[20] The Purple Foundation. https://www.purplecampaign.org/purplefoundation/inspired

[21] Color Perception. http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/vision/colper.html

Reverend Doyt Conn. “The Color Purple.” https://epiphanyseattle.org/sermon/the-color-purple/

[22] Walker, Alice. “Writing The Color Purple.” In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens. New York: A Harvest Book Harcourt, Inc., 1983. Pg 356.

[23] Fancher, Faith. “Men Are Not the Center of Alice Walker’s Universe.” July 3, 1985. NPR https://www.npr.org/transcripts/808305443

[24] Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York: Mariner Books Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1992. Pg 1.

[25] Fancher, Faith. “Men Are Not the Center of Alice Walker’s Universe.” July 3, 1985. NPR https://www.npr.org/transcripts/808305443

[26] Fancher, Faith. “Men Are Not the Center of Alice Walker’s Universe.” July 3, 1985. NPR https://www.npr.org/transcripts/808305443

[27] Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York: Mariner Books Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1992. Pg 3.

[28] Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York: Mariner Books Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1992. Pp 10-11.

[29] Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York: Mariner Books Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1992. Pg 206.

[30] Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York: Mariner Books Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1992. Pg 22.

[31] Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York: Mariner Books Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1992. Pg 40.

[32] Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York: Mariner Books Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1992. Pg 21.

[33] Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York: Mariner Books Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1992. Pg 45.

[34] Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York: Mariner Books Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1992. Pg 118.

[35] Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York: Mariner Books Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1992. Pg 120.

[36] Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York: Mariner Books Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1992. Pg 192.

[37] Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York: Mariner Books Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1992. Pg 195-6.

[38] Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York: Mariner Books Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1992. Pg 196.

[39] Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York: Mariner Books Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1992. Pg 197.

[40] Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York: Mariner Books Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1992. Pg 285.

[41] Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York: Mariner Books Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1992. Pg 199.

[42] Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York: Mariner Books Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1992. Pg 201.

[43] Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York: Mariner Books Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1992. Pg 203.

[44] Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York: Mariner Books Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1992. Pg 215.

[45] Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York: Mariner Books Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1992. Pg 35.

[46] Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York: Mariner Books Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1992. Pg 35.

[47] Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York: Mariner Books Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1992. Pg 270.

[48] Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York: Mariner Books Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1992. Pg 222.

[49] Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York: Mariner Books Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1992. Pg 206.

[50] Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York: Mariner Books Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1992. Pg 224.

[51] Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York: Mariner Books Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1992. Pg 288.

[52] Walker, Alice. “The Gospel According to Shug.” The Temple of My Familiar. New York: Mariner Books Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1989.

Images:

 Why Was The Color Purple Banned: Photo by Julia Joppien on Unsplash julia-joppien–3wygakaeQc-unsplash

What Makes The Color Purple an Important Book: Photo by Susan Wilkinson on Unsplash
susan-wilkinson-EDJKEXFbzHA-unsplash

What’s the Difference Between Womanism and Feminism: Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Articles_by_and_photo_of_Charlotte_Perkins_Gilman_in_1916.j pg

What are the Attributes of a Womanist: Photo by Monique Pongan on Unsplash
monique-pongan-ItzbIyqj6X4-unsplash

What is the Significance of Purple: Photo by Artiom Vallat on Unsplash
artiom-vallat-mFrLqRZMx7o-unsplash

Womanism Within The Color Purple: Photo by Leighann Blackwood on Unsplash
https://unsplash.com/photos/five-woman-sitting-on-the-ground-hx87JWG4yCI

Celie, Situated in History: American Anti-Slavery Almanac. Illustrations of the American anti-slavery almanac for New York, New York.
United States New York, 1840. New York. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2007680126/

Mary Bailey Searching for Her Children: Last Seen: Finding Family After Slavery Project. Daily Dispatch. Richmond, VA. November 24, 1866. https://informationwanted.org/search?query=mary+bailey&submit_search=Search&query_type=keyword&record_types
%5B%5D=Item

Celie, Situated in Culture: Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
https://unsplash.com/photos/woman-in-black-tank-top-sitting-on-black-couch-BH8-YFSNEIw

Shug is Portrayed in the Tradition of Early Blueswomen: “Mamie Smith.” New York Public Library Digital Collections. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/bbed05d3-d91f-4a43-e040-e00a180636e4

Shug Helps Celie Reconcile with Spiritual Life: Photo by Cadabullos Diseño Web on Unsplash https://unsplash.com/photos/purple-petaled-flower-YPf2f95m1Uo

Celie’s Financian Independence By Way of Folkspants, Unlimited: Photo by Bozhin Karaivanov on Unsplash https://unsplash.com/photos/blue-and-red-thread-on-brown-wooden-rack-Sn_Y0jTyS94

Womanism Takes the Well-Being of Men Into Account Too: Photo by Cassandra Hamer on Unsplash https://unsplash.com/photos/silhouette-of-man-half-face-leaning-on-wall-wOGyuqXC8Xg

The Larger Effects of Womanism:  Photo by Jr Korpa on Unsplash
https://unsplash.com/photos/red-string-on-clear-surface-uezt7zcwsKo

L
ast year Unite Against Book Bans issued a call to action for readers, library lovers, and advocates everywhere to stand up to censorship as part of a national day of action. It was called Right to Read Day, and thousands answered the call.

Let’s do it again!
Because the book banners are definitely still at it.

In 2023, a record-breaking 4,240 unique book titles were targeted for censorship. That’s a whopping 65% increase over the 2,571 unique titles targeted in 2022. And, a staggering 128% increase over 2021 numbers.

This surge was driven by groups and individuals demanding the censorship of multiple titles, often hundreds at a time. Such multi-title challenges comprised about 89% of all book challenges in public libraries in 2023. In comparison multi-title challenges only made up 5% of book challenges in 2019.

Organized pressure groups have utilized their power—and exhaustive lists of titles—to wage an aggressive campaign to empty library shelves of all books they deem inappropriate, rather than allowing people to decide for themselves what they and their children read.

And there’s clearly an effort to squash diversity and inclusiveness. Because 47% of books targeted were titles representing the voices and lived experiences of BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ individuals.

As challenges to books in school libraries rose dramatically in recent years, would-be censors frequently insisted they weren’t banning books because students would have full access to them at their public library. But…   the number of titles targeted for censorship at public libraries increased by 92% in 2023.[1]

What can we do about it?

• Check out a library book that’s at risk of being banned. Yes, it really does help. Doing so proves the book in question is useful to and used by the community your public library is intended to serve.
  .
• Share statistics about book banning on your social networks. Here are some graphics to help drive the information home.
  .
• Let your voice be heard at a meeting of your library board, school board, or other local officials. Here’s a handy guide to help you get organized.
  .
• Organize your community against censorship, and to defend the freedom to read. Here’s a toolkit to get you started.
  .
• Report censorship to the Office for Intellectual Freedom.

But don’t limit your actions to Right to Read Day. Keep your activism against censorship going beyond April 8^th. Continue to counter the small but vocal group of voices driving the current wave of book bans in schools and public libraries.

Let’s put the kibosh on this alarming effort to restrict our right to read!

#Right to Read Day 2024      #banned books     #on censorship          #celebrations

Endnotes:

[1] UniteAgainstBookBans.org https://uniteagainstbookbans.org/2023-book-bans/

Unite Against Book Bans just added a new tool
in the fight against book banning!

C
ollaborating with the publishing community, Unite Against Book Bans has developed a free collection of book résumés, if you will. This new tool is designed to support librarians, educators, students, parents, and other freedom-to-read advocates in their efforts to keep frequently challenged books on shelves.

Partnering with dozens of publishers, and including information provided by librarians and School Library Journal, Unite Against Book Bans book résumés are simple-to-print documents designed to help support readers’ access to books targeted by censors.

Each résumé includes:

• a summary of the book’s significance and educational value
• a synopsis
• reviews from professional journals
• accolades and awards it has received
• and more.

When applicable, résumés also include information about how the book in question has been successfully retained in libraries and school districts after a demand to censor the work.

These documents are in PDF format, so they can be downloaded and printed for easy sharing with book review committees, administrators, and the public at board meetings.

Spread the word. Share this new ban-busting tool far and wide. You can find an extensive list here:  bookresumes.uniteagainstbookbans.org

.
#book banning                     #on censorship                                 #activism

.
e’re over the moon about the first ever Eleanor Roosevelt Banned Book Awards Ceremony!  Amid the surge of books being pulled from shelves across the nation, this new initiative shines a spotlight on literary voices and books that have been targets of censorship.

This ceremony celebrates the inaugural winners of the Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Bravery in Literature, awarding authors whose works focus on racial justice, LGBTQIA rights, and gender equity.[1]

Eleanor Roosevelt’s legacy as a fierce advocate for human rights, civil rights, and democracy, continues to inspire new generations to use their voices to protect and advance the rights of those who have been marginalized and oppressed.

She was First Lady of the United States from 1933-1945, making her the longest serving First Lady in American history. But that’s not what makes her so consequential. She redefined the role of First Lady, which had been up until her time had been primarily symbolic, and limited to hostessing and domesticity.[2]

At a time when few married women had careers, Roosevelt continued with the business agenda and speaking schedule she had begun before becoming First Lady. She also wrote a widely syndicated daily newspaper column titled “My Day” discussing issues of the time, including civil rights, women’s right, and a variety of current events. And she continued writing her column until 1962 – long after she left the White House.[3]

Roosevelt was also the first presidential spouse to hold regular press conferences, 348 over the span of her husband’s 12-year presidency. And in 1940, she was the first presidential spouse to speak at a national party convention.[4]

She envisioned a brighter future for Americans, starting with our youth. And, she connected the proverbial dots – if government couldn’t save the youth being victimized by high unemployment, unremitting poverty, disrupted family life, and poor education, the future of democracy itself was in question.[5]

Addressing this concern, she was an initiator of the National Youth Administration (NYA), which operated as part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA).[6] The NYA’s focus was providing work and education for Americans between the ages of 16 and 25.

In addition to providing courses in reading, writing and arithmetic, NYA operated two programs: a Works Project Program to train out-of-school, unemployed youth, as well as a Student Aid Program that provided work-study training for high school, college, and graduate student.[7]

After visiting the families of miners in Morgantown, West Virginia who had been blacklisted for union activity and were now homeless, Roosevelt established a resettlement community in Arthurdale. The plan was that these displaced miners would make a living by subsistence farming, the sale of handmade items, and at a local plant to manufacture mailboxes and post office furniture.

Though the families agreed to repay the government within thirty years, Congress ultimately defunded the project. Even so, Roosevelt considered the project a success, for many of Arthurdale’s residents regained economic sufficiency. Speaking later about the improvements she noticed in people’s lives, Roosevelt stated “I don’t know whether you think that is worth half a million dollars. But I do.”[8]

The Arthurdale experience also prompted Roosevelt to be more outspoken about racial discrimination, due to the miners’ insistence that membership be limited to white Christians. She would become one of the few voices in her husband’s administration to insist that benefits of the New Deal be extended equally to Americans of all races.[9]

She supported the Tuskegee Airmen in their effort to become the first black combat pilots. And showed her support by visiting their Alabama training grounds.

Roosevelt also bucked tradition by inviting African-American guests to the White House. Most notably, a group of students from the National Training School for Girls, a predominantly Black reform school the conditions of which she described as “unfit for habitation.” She was also working to improve the school, by not only lobbying for additional funding, but pressing for changes in staffing and curriculum.[10]

Eleanor Roosevelt advocated for women too. Early in her advocacy career she was particularly interested in the social feminists of the League of Women Voters, as well as the labor feminism of the Women’s Trade Union League. Roosevelt’s alliances with these organizations led to her interest in the poor and working-class women, and legislation specifically designed to protect women in the workplace.

And those press conferences she held? A good number of them were limited to female journalists. This was one way she encouraged women to maintain prominent careers. [11] During World War II, she urged women to learn trades. And advocated women be given factory jobs a good year before the practice became widespread.[12]

In her time, Eleanor Roosevelt was one of the most widely admired and esteemed women in the world.[13] Which brings us to her instrumental role in drafting the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights . Her work with the United Nations was decisive in redefining human rights. She was successful in bringing her commitment to universal civil rights and comprehensive social welfare to the international stage.[14]

In keeping with her mission, The Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Bravery in Literature serves to elevate and protect literary works that advance human rights, and honors the authors who write them – even in face of adversity. Awards are for works of literature vital to our culture that have been the subject of challenges and book banning by school boards or local governments.

Those authors include:

Judy Blume — receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Congratulations to these champions of intellectual freedom!
Learn more about them at the Eleanor Roosevelt Center.

 #banned books       #Eleanor Roosevelt        #racial justice       #gender equity         #human rights

Endnotes:

[1] “The Eleanor Roosevelt Banned Book Awards.” Eleanor Roosevelt Center and Fisher Center at Bard. https://fishercenter.bard.edu/events/banned-book-awards-24/

[2] Goodwin, Doris Kearns . No Ordinary Time: Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1994. Pp 89-91.

[3] My Day, Key Events. Primary Resources on American Experience. Public Broadcasting Services. October 26, 2012 episode.

[4] Goodwin, Doris Kearns . No Ordinary Time: Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1994. Pg 10, 133.

Beasley, Maurine (December 1986). “Eleanor Roosevelt’s Vision of Journalism: A Communications Medium for Women”. Presidential Studies Quarterly. 16 (1) Pg. 67.

[5] “Eleanor Roosevelt.” The Eleanor Roosevelt Center. https://ervk.org/who-we-are/eleanors-life/

[6] Abramowitz, Mildred W. “Eleanor Roosevelt and The National Youth Administration 1935-1943 – An Extension of the Presidency.” Presidential Studies Quarterly. Volume 14, Number 4. Pg 569.

[7] “National Youth Administration.” Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture. https://web.archive.org/web/20120102040611/http://digital.library.okstate.edu/
encyclopedia/entries/N/NA014.html

[8] Cook, Blanche Wiesen. Eleanor Roosevelt, Vol. 1: 1884-1933. New York: Viking Press,1992. Pg 151.

[9] Goodwin, Doris Kearns . No Ordinary Time: Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1994. Pp 162-163.

[10] Cook, Blanche Wiesen. Eleanor Roosevelt, Vol. 1: 1884-1933. New York: Viking Press,1992. Pg 358.

Beasley, Maurine (December 1986). “Eleanor Roosevelt’s Vision of Journalism: A Communications Medium for Women”. Presidential Studies Quarterly. 16 (1) Pg. 102.

[11] “Eleanor Roosevelt and Women’s Rights.” Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site. https://www.nps.gov/articles/eleanor-roosevelt-and-women-s-rights.htm

[12] Goodwin, Doris Kearns . No Ordinary Time: Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1994. Pg 364.

[13] “Mrs. Roosevelt, First Lady 12 Years, Often Called ‘World’s Most Admired Woman'”. The New York Times. November 8, 1962.

[14] “It’s Up to the Women.” Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site. National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/elro/learn/historyculture/it-s-up-to-the-women.htm

Images:

Unknown author – This image is available from the United States Library of Congress‘s Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID cph.3c08091. (Public Domain)

Eleanor Roosevelt flying with Tuskegee Airman Charles “Chief” Anderson in March 1941. Air Force Historical Research Agency, 234.821 v. 4. File is from www.nps.gov/tuai/images/aireleanorlgTHM_1.jpg. (Public Domain)

Eleanor Roosevelt reads the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1949; FDR Presidential Library & Museum 64-165 (No changes were made to original)  https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

.
amboozled! It means to be hoodwinked, flimflammed, hornswoggled — all fun & fancy words that mean to be tricked, deceived in underhanded ways. Like the way Tom Sawyer bamboozled his friends into whitewashing that fence for him, so he could play all day.

We may see Twain’s character as clever, and the iconic fence-painting scene as a laugh-worthy observation about human nature. But being bamboozled can be a very serious matter. As Carl Sagan, the popular public advocate of scientific inquiry, pointed out:

One of the saddest lessons of history is this: if we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back. [1]

Sagan also reminds us that careless thinking is easily bamboozled by “baloney” (another fun & fancy word that means foolish or deceptive talk.)

… flimflam and wishes disguised as facts are not restricted to parlour magic [like seances have repeatedly been proven to employ] and ambiguous advice on matters of the heart [the trademark of sketchy psychics everywhere]. Unfortunately, they ripple through mainstream political, social, religious and economic issues in every nation. [2]

Which is why critical thinking is essential to a democratic society… so the electorate avoids being bamboozled by a charlatan’s baloney, when he claims he alone can fix the political, social, and economic issues of the day.

Bamboozled is also an important word when it comes to the recent surge in book bans and censorship, those professed to be for children’s benefit and protection. Because, as literacy scholars Gay Ivey and Peter Johnston point out, when we actually look at what happens when students read the types of books being challenged, we see that their reading achievement improves significantly. And that’s just for starters.

Students also exhibit improved self-control. They build more and stronger friendships, not to mention family relationships. Students report that reading books about characters with complicated lives helped them become morally stronger. Not to mention being “happier… Yes, happier.” (No small consideration given the increased number of adolescents experiencing mental health issues.)[3]

Such findings fly in the face of banners’ claims that certain books foment disobedience in young readers, and disrespect for their parents. Or that learning about difficult aspects of American history will throw students into a spiral of self-hatred. Or that engaging characters dealing with abuse or addiction will cause readers to become traumatized. Or that learning empathy for people whose lives are different from our own leads to moral perversion.

Those who want to restrict what’s in our libraries, or redact American history, depend on us being bamboozled to get away with it.

So, don’t be bamboozled by that baloney. Read! And read widely. Dig into the wealth of fabulous and meaningful literature that’s out there. It’s the most effective way to cultivate critical thinking skills. Because we all know a “Tom Sawyer.”

Pair this with:
What Actually Happens When Young People Read “Disturbing Books.

#fun & fancy words        #critical thinking       #censorship 

Endnotes:

[1] Sagan, Carl. Pg 230. The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark. (London: Headline Book Publishing, 1996), Pg 230.

[2] Sagan, Carl. Pg 230. The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark. (London: Headline Book Publishing, 1996), Pg 233.

[3] Gay Ivey, Peter Johnson. “What Happens When Young People Actually Read ‘Disturbing’ Books.” Teachers College Press blog. October 31, 2023. https://www.tcpress.com/blog/young-people-read-disturbing-books/

.
ave Eggers describes himself as “the author of many books.” And indeed he is. His works include The Circle, The Monk of Mokha, Heroes of the Frontier, A Hologram for the King, and What is the What, just to name a few. There’s also his children’s books. Among them, What Can a Citizen Do?, Faraway Things, Her Right Foot.

As if being a tremendously successful writer (and all-around nice guy) isn’t enough, Eggers is also editor of McSweeney’s, an independent nonprofit publishing house. And, he’s co-founder of 826 National, a non-profit organization that focuses on student writing, tutoring, and publishing. As well as co-founding Voice of Witness, a nonprofit book series that illuminates human rights crises around the world through the oral histories of people who are most deeply impacted.

Not to mention being the recipient of more literary awards than you can shake a proverbial stick at.

Needless to say, he created quite a buzz (despite his unpretentious manner) for elated literacy educators from across the country when he appeared at this year’s NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) conference to sign his new all-ages novel, and winner of the John Newberry Medal, The Eyes & The Impossible.

And, it isn’t surprising that our conversation turned to the recent surge in banned books…  or that Mr. Eggers graciously gave permission for This Book is Banned to share a link to the following article he wrote on the subject of book banning.  Because he’s been the subject of book banning.

His book The Circle was not only pulled from high school reading lists in Rapid City, South Dakota, it was on a list with several other books that school officials decided should be destroyed. Yes destroyed, despite being in mint condition — they hadn’t even been removed from their shipping boxes.

And, he’s on a proverbial soapbox, full-throatedly fighting the good fight against book banning and the censorship of ideas.

Notes:

This article originally appeared in The Washington Post on June 24, 2022.

Image:

Photo by Cristina Gottardi on Unsplash

.
he New York Public Library is offering free, nationwide digital access to young adult books that have been the object of bans or challenges…  through their Teen Banned Book Club.

There are also author talks and other book club events, so you can join the conversation. Not to mention a Teen Writing Contest, and a Toolkit to help you and your community get involved in the fight to protect the Freedom to Read.

Join the NYPL’s Teen Banned Book Club here.

And be sure not to dillydally!
The New York Public Library will announce
the first book club title of 2024 on January 3rd.

#Banned Books          #On Censorship

And I got to see that in person in Florida when I did that event there. When I did the whole book tour, I did feel like I was preaching to the choir. I wasn’t allowed to go to the school board meeting, and all the things I set up were banned book events. So, if you came, you probably weren’t a person who needs to be reached.

There were a lot of people who came up to me and said they agreed but were afraid to say something, that they’re on a school board, or work somewhere that makes speaking up a problem – or they’re just trying to avoid being labeled a pedophile. But by the end of the event, they’d say “I get it now. It’s gonna be difficult, but I’m going to say something.”

Ryan Estrada is an artist, author, and adventurer. His books include Banned Book Club, Occulted, and the Student Ambassador series. He has worked for Star Trek, Popeye, Flash Gordon, and Garfield.

https://ryanestrada.com

#banned books      #on censorship     #graphic novels        #book banning       #activism

Endnotes:

[1] Kim Hyun Sook, Ryan Estrada, illustrated by Ko Hyung-Ju. Banned Book Club. Chicago: Iron Circus Comics, 2020. Back cover.
[2] NCTAsia. https://www.nctasia.org/awards/year/2020/
[3] Minuteman Library Network. https://www.minlib.net/booklists/award-winners/eisner
[4] Alverson, Brigid. “’Banned Book Club’ Authors Speak Out After Their Work Is Temporarily Banned in Florida.” May 02, 2023. School Library Journal. https://www.slj.com/story/Banned-Book-Club-Authors-Speak-Out-After-Their-Work-is-Temporarily-Banned-in-Florida
[5] The text of Florida law HB 1467 may not explicitly impose felony penalties, but that doesn’t mean failure to comply can’t result in jail time. Having books in classroom libraries not approved by a “certified media specialist” leaves school librarians and teachers open to charges of a “felony of the third-degree” under Florida statute 847.012 (regarding Obscenity Crimes), which carries a penalty of “a term of imprisonment” for up to 5 years.

School districts are taking this seriously. Administrators have sent guidance to their teachers and staff to remove any unvetted books from classroom libraries until they could be approved, citing urgency based on the Obscenity statute mentioned above. https://www.snopes.com/news/2023/02/01/felony-charges-unapproved-books/ , https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2022/1467/BillText/er/PDF , http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0800-0899/0847/Sections/0847.012.html

.
he Crucible is a notable example of how literature is like a layer cake. Arthur Miller’s account of why he came to write this play also touches upon how it is written, outlining the multi-layered nature of the work. Miller’s delineation of his play’s layers demonstrates why it’s important to get every bite of literary confections like The Crucible.

When The Crucible first opened on the Broadway stage in 1953, America was in the midst of what’s known as the Red Scare, a period of public hysteria about a perceived internal Communist threat.[1] The American psyche was fixated on the Congressional investigations being conducted by the House Un-American Activities Committee.[2]

The House Un-American Activities Committee targeted the Hollywood film industry, ushering in an era of blacklisting media workers. In order to promote their patriotic credentials, Hollywood studios implemented a blacklist. Scores of writers and media workers were banned from employment because of their perceived political leanings. And all it took was a rumored association with so-called “subversives” to ruin a career.[3]

In fact, Miller himself was called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee (in 1956). And he was cited for contempt of Congress for refusing to point a proverbial finger in any other writers’ direction.[4]

Miller was motivated to write The Crucible in large part by what he describes as the “paralysis that had set in” among those who were unsettled by the committee’s violations of civil rights, but fearful of being identified as a covert Communists themselves if they protested too strongly.[5]

“In one sense,” Miller has stated, “The Crucible was an attempt to make life real again, palpable and structured.”[6] His hope was that the play “might illuminate the tragic absurdities” of what was going on in America during this period.[7]

The Crucible, as Miller characterizes it:

.
straddles two different worlds to make them one, but it is but it is not history in the usual sense of the word, but a moral, political and psychological construct that floats on the fluid emotions of both eras.[8]

He further notes that writing a play about the Salem witch trials probably wouldn’t have occurred to him if he hadn’t noticed “some astonishing correspondences with the calamity” of the period.[9]

While both historical moments involved the menace of concealed plots, the most startling thing for Miller were the similarities in their investigative routines, and “rituals of defense.”[10] Prosecutorial practices of the Salem witch trials were remarkably similar to those employed by the congressional committees.[11]

They were 300 years apart, yet both prosecutions charged membership of a clandestine, disloyal group. And, even if the accused confessed, their honesty could only be proven by naming others who were in league with them.[12]

Miller also noticed corresponding behaviors between members of the two communities. For example, avoiding old friends so as not to be seen associating with them, and zealous confirmations of loyalty. Not to mention a despairing pity for the accused mixed with an underlying sentiment that they “must have done something.”[13]

With this realization, Miller explains:

.
My basic need was to respond to a phenomenon which, with only small exaggeration, one could say paralyzed a whole generation and in a short time dried up the habits of trust and toleration in public discourse.[14]  

Miller was only certain a play about the Salem witch trials was possible, however, when a particular entry in the documents he was researching “jogged” the thousands of pieces of information he had found into place.[15]

It became apparent to him that Abigail Williams was fired from domestic service in the Proctor household because Elizabeth’s husband John had “bedded” the young woman. He saw the bad blood between the two women as being what prompted Abigail to accuse Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft.

“All this I understood,” Miller points out, “I had not approached the witchcraft out of nowhere, or from purely social and political considerations.”[16]

His own marriage of twelve years was teetering, and he was painfully aware that the blame lay with him. He had “at last found something of [him]self in it.”[17]

So, Miller began to build the play around the character of John Proctor. That Proctor might overturn his personal guilt and emerge as the most forthright voice against the lunacy that had a grip on the community was a reassurance to Miller. For him, it demonstrated that a “clear moral outcry could still spring” from a tarnished soul like his own.[18]

Miller sought a title that would literally indicate the burning away of impurities, “which,” as he explicitly states, “is what the play is doing.”[19] And the term crucible… well, it crystalizes that concept in a single word.

As Miller states, he couldn’t have written The Crucible simply to write a play about blacklisting – or about Salem’s witch trials for that matter.  His play centers on “the guilt of John Proctor and the working out of that guilt,” exemplifying “the guilt of man in general.”[20] And there we have the fourth layer in our literary cake… universal themes.

Though many people still consider The Crucible to be a tract-like against McCarthyism, it’s more than a political metaphor. It’s also more than a simple morality tale. As Miller maintains:

.
On its most universal level, The Crucible is about community hysteria, fear of the unknown, the psychology of betrayal, the cast of mind that insists on absolute truth and resorts to fear and violence to assert it, and not least about the fortitude it takes to protect the innocent and resist unjust authority.”[21]

He draws a comparison between turning to Salem and looking in a petri dish. Three centuries before the cold-war, as Miller points out, Salem village displayed what he describes as a human “fatality forever awaiting the right conditions for its always unique, forever unprecedented outbreak of trust, alarm, suspicion.”[22]

And, he calls attention to the fact that this “fatality” isn’t about “just a crazy situation in a far-off place.”[23] Such events could (and often do) occur in a corporate boardroom, for example, or anywhere else unchecked power is prodigious. So, we can add ongoing relevance to the list of layers in our literary cake.

It’s important to remember that, as Miller makes abundantly clear, literary works like The Crucible function on multiple levels. As such, they aren’t intended to be read on a single level, whether that’s for plot and simple enjoyment, or the exploration of universal themes at the expense of historical and societal context.

Either of these common approaches flattens literary works, minimizing the diverse perspectives of unique identities, as well as the histories of various communities. Not to mention the fact that flattening a work hinders engaging it through the filter of current pressing civic issues.[24]

Where we arrive at what the reader “bring[s] to the party,” as Toni Morrison puts it.[25] This perspective also contributes to the layer count of our literary confection (which at this point is tall enough to resemble something out of Dr. Seuss.)

For example, educators have recently been teaching The Crucible with a view toward how mass hysteria, patriarchy, sexism, and scapegoating continue to operate today.

Some teachers use Miller’s play to initiate conversations about prison and bail reform. Still others employ The Crucible as a way to examine systems of privilege and power that marginalize people of color and other marginalized populations. [26]

When we examine all the layers within works like The Crucible, we begin to comprehend the real power of literature – to build understanding about the world we live in, to provoke questioning power structures that produce inequality, to foster empathy for those whose life circumstances are different than our own. And as a result, perhaps make our piece of the world a little better for everyone.[27] Which is why it’s so important to get every bite of these literary confections.

#the art of reading      #banned books      #witch trials     #published 1950s     #english literature   #Benefits of the Humanities

Endnotes:

[1] Navaskh, Victor. “The Demons of Salem, With Us Still.” Sept. 8, 1996. The New York Times.
https://www.nytimes.com/1996/09/08/movies/the-demons-of-salem-with-us-still.html

“Red Scare.” April 21, 2023. The History Channel  https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/red-scare

“McCarthyism and the Red Scare.” University of Virginia Miller Center.  https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/educational-resources/age-of-eisenhower/mcarthyism-red-scare

[2] Miller, Arthur. “Why I Wrote ‘The Crucible.’” Oct. 13, 1996. The New Yorker.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1996/10/21/why-i-wrote-the-crucible

[3] Perlman, Allison. “Hollywood blacklist.”Sept. 22, 2023.  Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hollywood-blacklist

“A look back at the Hollywood blacklist.” July 8, 2018. BrandeisNOW. https://www.brandeis.edu/now/2018/june/blacklist-qa-tom-doherty.html

[4] “Excerpts from Arthur Miller’s testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee.” American Masters. April 2020. PBS. https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/excerpts-from-arthur-millers-testimony-before-the-house-un-american-activities-committee/14006/

[5] Miller, Arthur. “Why I Wrote ‘The Crucible.’” Oct. 13, 1996. The New Yorker.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1996/10/21/why-i-wrote-the-crucible

[6] Miller, Arthur. “Are You Now Or Were You Ever?” The  Guardian/The Observer (online), June 17, 2002. https://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/miller-mccarthyism.html

[7] Miller, Arthur. “Are You Now Or Were You Ever?” The  Guardian/The Observer (online), June 17, 2002. https://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/miller-mccarthyism.html

[8] Miller, Arthur. “Are You Now Or Were You Ever?” The  Guardian/The Observer (online), June 17, 2002. https://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/miller-mccarthyism.html

[9] Miller, Arthur. “Are You Now Or Were You Ever?” The  Guardian/The Observer (online), June 17, 2002. https://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/miller-mccarthyism.html

[10] Miller, Arthur. “Are You Now Or Were You Ever?” The  Guardian/The Observer (online), June 17, 2002. https://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/miller-mccarthyism.html

[11] Miller, Arthur. “Why I Wrote ‘The Crucible.’” Oct. 13, 1996. The New Yorker.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1996/10/21/why-i-wrote-the-crucible

[12] Miller, Arthur. “Are You Now Or Were You Ever?” The  Guardian/The Observer (online), June 17, 2002. https://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/miller-mccarthyism.html

[13] Miller, Arthur. “Why I Wrote ‘The Crucible.’” Oct. 13, 1996. The New Yorker.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1996/10/21/why-i-wrote-the-crucible

[14] Miller, Arthur. “Are You Now Or Were You Ever?” The  Guardian/The Observer (online), June 17, 2002. https://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/miller-mccarthyism.html

[15] Miller, Arthur. “Why I Wrote ‘The Crucible.’” Oct. 13, 1996. The New Yorker.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1996/10/21/why-i-wrote-the-crucible

[16] Miller, Arthur. “Why I Wrote ‘The Crucible.’” Oct. 13, 1996. The New Yorker.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1996/10/21/why-i-wrote-the-crucible

[17] Miller, Arthur. “Why I Wrote ‘The Crucible.’” Oct. 13, 1996. The New Yorker.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1996/10/21/why-i-wrote-the-crucible

[18] Miller, Arthur. “Why I Wrote ‘The Crucible.’” Oct. 13, 1996. The New Yorker.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1996/10/21/why-i-wrote-the-crucible

[19] Mel Gussow and Arthur Miller. Conversations with Miller. New York: Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, 2002. Pg 185.

[20] Mel Gussow and Arthur Miller. Conversations with Miller. New York: Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, 2002. Pg 7.

[21] Navaskh, Victor. “The Demons of Salem, With Us Still.” Sept. 8, 1996. The New York Times.
https://www.nytimes.com/1996/09/08/movies/the-demons-of-salem-with-us-still.html

[22] Miller, Arthur. “Are You Now Or Were You Ever?” The  Guardian/The Observer (online), June 17, 2002. https://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/miller-mccarthyism.html

[23] Mel Gussow and Arthur Miller. Conversations with Miller. New York: Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, 2002.Pg 37.

[24] Mirra, Nicole. Reading, Writing, & Raising Voices: The Centrality of Literacy to Civic Education. 2022. NCTE: National Council of Teachers of English. Pg 5.

[25] Morrison, Toni. “The Reader as Artist.” O, the Oprah Magazine. Vol. 7, Issue 7. (July 2006), 174.

[26] Torres, Julia E. “Chat: Disrupting The Crucible.” June 12k 2018. DisruptTexts
https://disrupttexts.org/2018/06/12/disrupting-the-crucible/

[27] Ebarvia, Tricia. Disrupting Texts as a Restorative Practice.
https://triciaebarvia.org/2018/07/11/disrupting-texts-as-a-restorative-practice/#:~:text=%23DisruptTexts%20is%20a%20type%20of,choices%20we%20make%20as%20educators

Images:

First Edition Cover with “banned” lock.

The Environment of the Day: Senate Hearings http://www.senate.gov 

Reference to American History: Cauldron-Photo by Matt Benson on Unsplash

The Personal Level: Broken pocket watch-Photo by Gaspar Uhas on Unsplash

Symbolism of the Title: A crucible https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crucible 

Ongoing Relevance: Fanned Book-Photo by Anastasia Zhenina on Unsplash

Beyond Themes of Paranoia: Silhouette and bird-Photo by Hasan Almasi on Unsplash

orty-two percent of all books that are banned contain topics pertaining to health and wellbeing for students, like bullying, and the substance abuse and suicide it can lead to.[1]

Yes, depictions of human cruelty can be intense, but we can’t afford to be silent on the subject. Banning books with bullying themes is doing more harm than good. Because, banning these books eliminates one of the best tools for addressing the behavior.

A recent survey of public-school superintendents indicates that over 75% express concern over one form of bullying or another.[2] The concern is understandable.

One in five high school students report being bullied at school in the last year. But it doesn’t just happen among high school students. Reports of bullying are highest in middle schools, and yes, bullying takes place in primary schools too.

Bullying can, of course, result in physical injuries of varying severity. But whether it takes the form of physical, emotional, social, or online bullying, the psychological effects are far-reaching and significantly more concerning. Bullying of any kind can not only lead to social and emotional distress, but also self-harm, and even death.

Being bullied can increase the risk of depression, sleep difficulties, anxiety, lower academic achievement, and dropping out of school.

Though we typically associate such concerns with students who are being bullied, youth who bully others are at increased risk for academic problems, substance abuse, and experiencing violence later in their adolescence and adulthood.[3]

School-based programs are being implemented to deal with bullying. Sometimes referred to as social-emotional learning, these programs are designed to enhance emotional and interpersonal skills. This includes empathy, emotional awareness and regulation, communication and problem-solving, as well as conflict management and teamwork.

This approach also seeks to change the way youth think about and engage with violence, by providing information about the psychological repercussions for all parties involved.[4]

Not surprisingly, books are an excellent resource for teaching these social and emotional skills. Needless to say, literature is chockfull of emotions as characters experience the ups and downs of their often-dramatic lives. When students examine the emotions of the characters they’re reading about, they not only gain a greater understanding of the text, but also their own feelings… not to mention those of their classmates.[5]

Yes, sometimes the emotions we feel when reading about bullying and its associated mental health issues can be difficult. But empathy, emotional awareness, and interpersonal skills can’t be developed without engaging such emotions. Social growth doesn’t happen in a vacuum.

So it’s disappointing, and more than a little disconcerting, when books containing themes of bullying are banned. Because these books happen to be the best ones for opening dialogue about bullying. So when they’re banned, one of the best tools for addressing bullying behavior has been eliminated, leaving students vulnerable to its damaging psychological effects.

For all you educators, here’s something from McGraw Hill
regarding literature as a tool to address bullying.

And check out this discussion guide to get you started.

#banned books    #benefits of humanities    #bullying

Endnotes:

[1] “Book Bans in Public Schools” PEN America.

[2] 2023 Voice of the Superintendent. EAB (Formerly Education Advisory Board). Pg 12.

[3] Preventing Bullying. 2018. CDC.gov. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/bullying-factsheet508.pdf

[4] A Comprehensive Technical Package for the Prevention of Youth Violence and Associated Risk Behaviors. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016. Pg 21.

[5] “Developing Social-Emotional Skills Through Literature.” Thoughtful Learning. https://k12.thoughtfullearning.com/blogpost/developing-social-emotional-skills-through-literature

[6]“Why you should read these 51 banned books now.”
https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/books/2023/09/29/banned-books-read-these-books-now-and-why-in-defense-of-books/71008499007/

[7] “Don’t Ban Books Like Eleanor and Park, Teens Need Them.” Book Riot.
https://bookriot.com/dont-ban-books-like-eleanor-park-teens-need/

[8] “Banned Books 2018 – Gutless.” https://www.marshall.edu/library/bannedbooks/gutless/

[9] “Why you should read these 51 banned books now.”
https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/books/2023/09/29/banned-books-read-these-books-now-and-why-in-defense-of-books/71008499007/

[10] Martin, Jennifer. “the 50 Most Banned Books in America.”  https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/the-50-most-banned-books-in-america/45/

.
hat can you do about book banning? More than you may realize. Take at least one action each day to help in the fight against censorship. Peruse the suggestions on the let’s do something about it! list below. Then incorporate these efforts into your day… not just for Banned Book Week, but all year long.

The American Library Association has recorded 695 demands to censor library books and resources between January 1 and August 31, 2023. That’s a 20% increase over the same period in 2022, which saw the most attempted book bans since ALA began compiling data about censorship in libraries more than 20 years ago.

These attempted bans include 1,915 unique titles. So, be sure to check books that’ve been challenged out of the library… doing so documents that these works are beneficial to the community. Begin with one of the top 13 most challenged books in 2022. They’re also listed below.[1]

#banned books     #celebrations

Endnotes:

[1] “Book Ban Data.” American Library Association.  https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/book-ban-data

nne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl is a classic work of Holocaust literature. But it’s also the coming or age story of a young girl, albeit in extraordinary circumstances. This aspect of this book is often forgotten, despite the statement on the original cover describing it as  an extraordinary document of adolescence.

While the term “diary” suggests raw, unedited writing, Diary of a Young Girl is an amalgamation of literary processes. And, it’s been translated into more than 70 languages, to become one of the most read books in the world.[1]

Anne Frank requested a diary for her thirteenth birthday. And it was one of the first things she packed when her family went into hiding two weeks later, on July 6, 1942.[2] Most people assume this single diary is all that exists of Anne’s writings, but it isn’t. She also wrote in notebooks she’d receive from her sister Margot and those helping to hide the family.  And these writings are included in what became the book Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl.

But that isn’t the only version of Anne Frank’s diary that has been published. Anne hoped to one day become a journalist, or famous writer.[3] And she was inspired to publish a book after the war about her time in the Secret Annex by an address on the radio from Gerrit Bolkestein, Education, Cultural Affairs and Science Minister of the Dutch government, in exile in London.

Bolkestein urged the Dutch people to collect “vast quantities of simple, everyday material…[4]

.
History cannot be written on the basis of official decisions and documents alone.[5]

If future generations are to realize to the full extent what we as a population are going through and what we are experiencing in this time of war, then it is clear that we will need simple documents: a diary, letters from a laborer forced to go to work in Germany, […] sermons spoken by a clergyman...[6]

Only with such writings could the “picture of Holland’s struggle for freedom be painted in its full depth and full glory.”[7]

Anne already had her title: Het Achterhuis, or The Secret Annex. She revised a large part of her diary, describing the period from June 12, 1942 to March 29, 1944. But the second draft of her revise omitted a couple of things. She eliminated notes about her crush on Peter van Pels, son of the family who shared their hiding place. And, she deleted irascible remarks about her mother, those typical of a thirteen-year-old.[8]

Anne’s father, Otto Frank, was the driving force behind the publication of her diary, which was first published in book form as Het Achterhuis on June 25, 1947.[9] He didn’t simply publish Anne’s revised version, however. Otto reinserted some of the passages from Anne’s original diary texts that she omitted in her rewrite. He also included some of Anne’s short stories. Otto also corrected the language errors in young Anne’s writing.[10]

After Het Achterhuis’ success in the Netherlands, Otto looked for publishing opportunities in other countries.  In 1950, a French edition was published, followed by one in German. And in 1952, two English versions were published under the title Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, one for Great Britain and the other for the U.S. which included an introduction by Eleanor Roosevelt.[11]

Otto Frank willed the original documents to the Netherlands State Institute for War Documentation.[12] And in 1986, the Institute produced a “Critical Edition” of the “Diary.” Intended for academic research, this edition draws a meticulously detailed comparison between Anne’s original diary texts, her rewritten version, and Otto’s rendition. It also includes exhaustive scientific examinations of the original documents confirming that this is indeed the work of a girl named Anne Frank.[13]

In 1995, The Definitive Edition was published in English. This edition contains 30% more material than the original edition, including much of the previously omitted sexual content. The additional material includes passages revolving around menstruation and sexual organs, as well as mentions of contraception. Not surprisingly, this version is the one most often banned and challenged.[14]

Most notable challenges include one in 2010, when a parent in the Culpepper County Public School district in Virginia complained that the book contained “explicit material and homosexual themes.”[15] The school district ultimately kept this edition of the book in its library. But, the curriculum was changed to use an earlier version of the work.

And in 2013, a formal complaint was filed by a Michigan parent, calling the book “pornographic.” They also characterized it as “too explicit for middle-schoolers,” clearly losing sight of the fact that it was written by a middle-school-aged author.[16] In fact, the cover of the original edition describes the book as “an extraordinary document of adolescence.” Unfortunately, many parents have forgotten what concepts, issues, and questions they were working through when they were thirteen.
.

Technically speaking this doesn’t qualify as a new edition, but in 2018 researchers announced they uncovered the text beneath two pages of the diary Anne had pasted over with brown paper.[17] Due to advances in image processing technology, The Anne Frank House, together with the Huygens Institute for the History of the Netherlands, as well as the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, were able to decipher the text on the hidden pages.[18

The content of the text, bawdy jokes and Anne’s version of material that approximates the sex education of the day, isn’t significant in itself. She explores such topics in other parts of the diary – very often in more explicit terms than they’re addressed here. As Peter de Bruijn, a senior researcher at the Huygens Institute for the History of the Netherlands maintains, they’re important because they indicate Frank’s first foray into writing in a more literary tone.[19]

Finally, there’s Anne Frank’s Diary the Graphic Adaptation, published in 2018. As the title explicitly states, this book is not a new edition, but an adaptation. That said, this telling of Anne Frank’s story is faithful to the Definitive Edition, and has been authorized by the Anne Frank Foundation in Basel.[20]

Anne Frank’s Diary the Graphic Adaptation has been making headlines lately for being yanked from school curriculums, most recently in Florida and Texas. Why was this version of Anne Frank’s diary banned? Like challenges revolving around The Definitive Edition, it’s been challenged for sexual content, and labeled “pornography.”[21]

The Anne Frank House even felt compelled to issue a statement on the recent firing of a schoolteacher in Texas for reading a passage in class. Understandably, it’s pointed out that this turn of events is not about Anne Frank’s diary itself, but an illustrated adaptation of her diary. Be that as it may, the Anne Frank House’s response is right on target:

.
According to the school, the passages about Anne Frank’s development from girlhood to womanhood and her curiosity about her sexuality are offensive. 

As a 13-year-old girl, Anne Frank had to go into hiding from the Nazis. For two years she wrote in her diary about her life, feelings and thoughts from her hiding place, the Secret Annex, against the background of the persecution of the Jews. She also wrote about her development as a woman and her ambition to become a writer. She did this in a frank manner. Anne Frank’s diary appeals to people worldwide.

Graphic biographies or novels are very suitable for reaching young people. Banning books, in this case the graphic adaptation of Anne Frank’s diary, because of certain passages is a missed opportunity to introduce young people to Anne Frank’s life story and the history of the Holocaust.[22]

On one level, Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl is nothing less than an iconic piece of Holocaust literature. On the other hand, it’s the story of a thirteen-year-old girl coming of age, albeit in extraordinary circumstances.

This combination of historical significance, and insight into the personal development of a young girl into womanhood makes this work doubly relevant. Because as Minister Bolkestein astutely pointed out, history is about more than official decisions and documents. It’s about people, and what they were experiencing during the period in question. If we’re going to truly understand it… that is.

#Banned Books     #Holocaust       #Celebrations     #published 1950s         #graphic novels

Endnotes:

[1] “The Diary.” Anne Frank.org  https://www.annefrank.org/en/anne-frank/diary/

[2] Müller, Melissa. Anne Frank: the biography. London: Bloomsbury, 2013. Pg 190.

[3 The Diary.” Anne Frank.org. https://www.annefrank.org/en/anne-frank/diary/

[4 Pampl, Patricia. “The Whole Anne Frank. March 5, 1995. The New York Times. https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/97/10/26/reviews/frank-definitive.html?mabReward=relbias&module=Search

[5] Pampl, Patricia. “The Whole Anne Frank. March 5, 1995. The New York Times. https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/97/10/26/reviews/frank-definitive.html?mabReward=relbias&module=Search

[6] War Diaries > Historical background. The Memory  https://geheugen.delpher.nl/en/geheugen/pages/collectie/Oorlogsdagboeken/Historische+achtergrond

[7] Müller, Melissa. Anne Frank: the biography. London: Bloomsbury, 2013. Pg 226.

[8] “The Diary.” Anne Frank House.org. https://www.annefrank.org/en/anne-frank/diary/

[9] “The Diary.” Anne Frank.org. https://www.annefrank.org/en/anne-frank/diary/initial-reactions-secret-annex/

Noonan, John. “On This Day: Anne Frank’s Diary Published.” Finding Dulcinea. https://www.findingdulcinea.com/on-this-day-anne-franks-diary-published/

[10] “The Complete Works of Anne Frank.” Anne Frank House.org  https://www.annefrank.org/en/anne-frank/diary/complete-works-anne-frank/

[11] “The Publication of the Diary.” Anne Frank.org  https://www.annefrank.org/en/anne-frank/diary/publication-diary/

Tikkanen, Amy. “The Diary of a Young Girl.” Britannica.com  https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Diary-of-a-Young-Girl

[12]   Lee, Carol Ann. The Biography of Anne Frank –  Roses From the Earth. London: Viking, 2000.     Pg 233.

[13] Pampl, Patricia. “The Whole Anne Frank. March 5, 1995. The New York Times. https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/97/10/26/reviews/frank-definitive.html?mabReward=relbias&module=Search

[14] Culker, Emily. “Happy Birthday, Anne Frank.” Intellectual Freedom Blog. June 12, 2022. https://www.oif.ala.org/happy-birthday-anne-frank-2/

[15] Chandler, Michael Alison. “School system in Virginia won’t teacher version of Anne Frank book.” January 29, 2010. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/28/AR2010012804001.html?nav%3Dhcmodule

[16] Culker, Emily. “Happy Birthday, Anne Frank.” Intellectual Freedom Blog. June 12, 2022. https://www.oif.ala.org/happy-birthday-anne-frank-2/

[17] Siegal, Nina. “Researchers Uncover Two Hidden Pages in Anne Frank’s Diary.” May 15, 2018. The New York Times.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/15/books/anne-frank-diary-new-pages.html

[18] “New texts from diary of Anne Frank revealed.” The Anne Frank House. https://www.annefrank.org/en/about-us/news-and-press/news/2018/5/15/new-texts-diary-anne-frank-revealed/

[19] Siegal, Nina. “Researchers Uncover Two Hidden Pages in Anne Frank’s Diary.” May 15, 2018. The New York Times.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/15/books/anne-frank-diary-new-pages.html

[20] The Jewish Museum Shop. https://shop.thejewishmuseum.org/anne-frank-s-diary

[21] Lapin, Andrew. “A new version of the famous Holocaust diary is being called ‘Anne Frank pornography’ and getting banned from schools.” June 23, 2023.  Heritage Florida Jewish News. https://www.heritagefl.com/story/2023/06/23/news/a-new-version-of-the-famous-holocaust-diary-is-being-called-anne-frank-pornography-and-getting-banned-from-schools/18397.html

Bella, Timothy. “Texas teacher fired after assigning graphic novel based on Anne Frank’s diary.” September 21, 2023. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/09/20/texas-teacher-anne-frank-fired/

[22] “Statement: banning of Anne Frank graphic adaption in Texas.” The Anne Frank House. https://www.annefrank.org/en/about-us/news-and-press/news/2023/9/21/banning-anne-frank-graphic-adaption-texas/

Images:

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. Cover of first English edition. Doubleday & Company Inc published the First Edition, First Printing in Garden City, New York, 1952.

Het Achterhuis (The Secret Annex) – Front cover. First edition, 1947.

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. The Definitive Edition. Cover. New York: Bantam, 1997.

Anne Frank’s red checked diary. The Anne Frank House. A_AFrank_I_039
https://www.annefrank.org/en/museum/anne-frank-collection/35/red-checked-diary/

Anne Frank’s Diary the Graphic Adaptation. Cover. New York: Pantheon Books, 2018