Challenged Book: And the Earth did not Devour Him
Artist: Tomas Rivera
Year: 2013
Date of Action: 6/13/13
Region: North America
Location: Clarke County school in Athens, Georgia
Medium: Literature
Confronting Bodies: Athens, Georgia school
Description of Artwork: Tomás Rivera’s coming-of-age story of a Mexican boy’s life in a migrant family in the 1940s and 1950s, with its themes of family life and tensions.
The Incident: The parents of a Clarke County seventh grade student demanded that the Clarke County Board of Education overturn Superintendent Philip Lanoue’s decision not to remove the award-winning book from an Athens, Georgia school. These parents did not want their child exposed to profanity and a lot of offensive language.
Results of Incident: The book has been decided to be restricted to Supplemental reading. Afterwards, this decision was appealed, and it was retained by board vote on 9/9/13.
David Huff, vice president of the school board, opposed the ban. He said that the board should be focusing on bigger issues, such as improving graduation rates, cutting-edge technology, and the future of education, not short-term political distractions.
Source:
• http://bannedbooks.world.edu/2013/06/16/banned-books-awareness-and-the-earth-did-not-devour-him/
