The school district of Biloxi, Mississippi has recently removed To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee from the 8^th grade curriculum. The Vice President of Biloxi School Board told the Sun Herald, “There is some language in the book that makes people uncomfortable, and we can teach the same lesson with other books.” The Sun Herald also received an email from a reader saying that the decision had been made “mid-lesson plan…due to the use of the ‘N’ word.” Eventually, after public outcry against the ban, the school board decided to leave the novel as a choice option for students, but did not return it to the required curriculum.

According to the Sun Herald, Yolanda Williams and her mother, Jessica Williams, told the Biloxi School Board that To Kill a Mockingbird is not the only thing that is offensive about the eighth-grade curriculum, but also things such as the study of ammunition used in the Civil War. Jessica Williams is also quoted saying, “Is there not a better way to teach about that era and the horrors of that era, other than having kids laughing in class when the N-word is said? It should not be required reading for all students. My child shouldn’t have to sit in that class like that.” Though some people are supportive of the ban, others think that the ban is unmerited. Arne Duncan, former secretary of education in the Obama administration, tweeted: “When school districts remove To Kill a Mockingbird from the reading list, we know we have real problems”.

To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the most popular books with over eighteen-million books in print, and it is translated into ten languages. It is also quite a popular book to be banned by school districts, and according to the American Library Association, is number 21 in the most banned/challenged books in the United States in the past decade. Many years ago, when the author was still alive, and it was banned in Hanover County Schools due to “immoral theme,” Harper Lee wrote a letter to the Editor of Richmond News Leader saying, ““Recently I have received echoes down this way of the Hanover County School Board’s activities, and what I’ve heard makes me wonder if any of its members can read.”