Beloved


Artist: Toni Morrison

Year: 2013

Date of Action: February, 2013

Region: North America

Location: Fairfax, VA

Subject: Political/Economic/Social Opinion, Sexual/Gender Orientation

Medium: Literature

Confronting Bodies: Parents

Description of Artwork: "Beloved" by Toni Morrison is the tale of Sethe, an ex-slave living with her daughter Denver in the Reconstruction-era South. Sethe is visited by several figures of her past including the ghost of her dead baby.

The Incident: Claiming that the book gave her 19-year old son nightmares, a Fairfax parent lobbied that "Beloved" be removed from the county's AP English curriculum.

Results of Incident: In a 6-2 vote by the Board of Education, the ban was denied.

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