Marshall University does not ban books! The information is provided to let people know what has been banned/challenged elsewhere.
2022
The Wentzville (MO) R-IV School District created a committee to review challenges to several books, including The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison; All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson; Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel; Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon; Gabi, A Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero; Modern Romance: An Investigation by Aziz Ansari and Eric Klinenberg; Invisible Girl: A Novel by Lisa Jewell; and Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison. Ignoring the committee’s recommendations, the all-white school board voted to ban the book. The ACLU of Missouri sued the school district on behalf of two students.
2020
Parents and teachers disagreed over the presence of LGBTQAI+ books that were purchased for a “diverse classroom libraries” initiative in the Loudoun County (VA) elementary and high schools. Twenty-seven books were formally challenged including Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman, My Princess Boy by Cheryl Kilodavis, Prince & Knight by Daniel Haack, So Hard to Say by Alex Sanchez, Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things by Lenore Look, Big Bob, Little Bob by James Howe, Dragons in a Bag by Zetta Elliott, Flowers from Mariko by Rich Noguchi and Deneen Jenks, Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero, Girls Like Me by Nina Packebush, Goldie Vance by Hope Larson, Hurricane Child by Kacen Callender, Mommy’s Khimar by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, My Year in the Middle by Lila Quintero Weaver, Other Broken Things by C. Desir, Rani Patel In Full Effect by Sonia Patel, The Season of You & Me by Robine Constantine, Silent Music: A Story of Baghdad by James Rumford, The Pants Project by Cat Clarke, The Witch Boy by Molly Ostertag, The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle by Leslie Connor, Want to Play Trucks? by Ann Stott, We March by Shane W. Evans, Weird Girl and What’s His Name by Meagan Brothers, Willow and the Wedding by Denise Brennan-Nelson, Zora and Me by Victoria Bond and T. R. Simon, and Ask My Mood Ring How I Feel by Diana Lopez. Four titles were relocated to the middle school and three titles were relocated to higher grades within the school.
On These Pages
A Banned book has been removed from a library, classroom, etc.
A Challenged book has been requested to be removed from a library, classroom, etc.
For additional information contact
Ron Titus, titus@marshall.edu
304-696-6575
Last updated
June 22, 2023