FREED BETWEEN THE LINES: BANNED BOOK WEEK
By Harrison J. Bahe
From September 23rd to September 29th, the Fort McDowell Library celebrated National Banned Books Week by inviting community members and tribal employees to the library to read from their selection of banned books. President Sandra Pattea and Vice President Paul Russell lended their reading voices to the cause by reading from such books as Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree. Both books have been notoriously banned from schools; Angelou’s book for depictions of abuse, rape, racism, and profanity and Silverstein’s book for its sexist nature. Captain Paul Gomez and fire fighter Nick Agrios from the Fort McDowell Fire Department read from Katherine Paterson’s Bridge to Terabithia which was banned for being sacrilegious and for promoting new age religion. Chylae Dexter from Wassaja Family Services read from Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell’s And Tango Makes Three which was banned for featuring two queer penguins who decide to start a family together. 14 year old Devin Little even read from Dav Pilkey’s Captain Underpants which was banned for containing offensive language, partial nudity, violence, misbehavior, and blackmail/threats.
The theme behind this year’s banned book week is Freed Between the Lines which encapsulates the concept behind this whole week in that students should be free to explore new ideas and different perspectives. Considering the recent rise of political divide, it’s more important now than ever. There were approximately 1,247 attempts to ban books from schools in 2023 alone.
Filmmaker Ava Duvernay was this year’s Honorary Chair for National Banned Book Week. “I believe that censorship is the enemy of freedom. By banning books, we deny ourselves the opportunity to learn from the past and to envision a braver future. Books have the power to open minds and build bridges. This is why certain forces do not want the masses to engage with books. They fear progress and growth in new, bold directions. For this reason, Banned Books Week is vitally important. It is a celebration of our right to access varied voices and to engage with ideas that challenge and champion us. I am honored to be selected as honorary chair of Banned Book Week for this election year, and I stand with my fellow readers, fellow writers and fellow advocates around the world who refuse to let voices be silenced.”
From The Catcher in the Rye to The Bluest Eye. From Captain Underpants to Bridge to Terabithia. Each of these books have been banned from school libraries for one reason or another. However, you can find each of these books on the shelves of the Fort McDowell Library. So, come on down to your favorite little library, pick up a banned book, and expand your horizons; open your mind to new ideas and see the world through a whole new lens.
