MAYA ANGELOU CENSORSHIP

WHEN DID THE CENSORSHIP TAKE PLACE?

• The censorship took place in 1983 when the book ‘I Know Why the Caged Birds Sing’ by Maya Angelou was considered inappropriate for kids (Katherine Chamberlain).

WHAT WORKS WERE INVOLVED?

• The explicit content that had been in this book were things such as rape and molestation. “These were things the author suffered as a teen” (Katherine Chamberlain).

WAS IT A DEMAND FOR EDITORIAL CHANGE?

• Many parents throughout the U.S had thought very badly about this book because of the content.
• Many parents wanted the book to be banned from schools and libraries so that their children wouldn’t be able to read such things.
• The most that had happened was that the book was challenged to be banned or it was restricted by some schools.
• “The book had been restricted in the Ocean View School District Middle School in Huntington Beach” (Katherine Chamberlain).

IS THE CENSORSHIP STILL TAKING PLACE?

• The censorship is not taking place in Maya Angelou books anymore due to the fact that she is dead.
• However I am sure that it is still happening in many books from a variety of different authors.

WHAT WAS DONE TO FIGHT THE CENSORSHIP?

• Parents argued and objected the publicity of this book to their kids.

WHAT WERE THE RESULTS?

• The results were that the book had not been banned but was at least restricted in some schools.
• There are however a lot of schools throughout the U.S where the book is able to be read.

CITATIONS

• Picture- https://goo.gl/images/E7Nx1U
• Research website- http://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=1495
• Textual evidence done by Katherine Chamberlain 2010