APRIL 2022 ISSUE

BOOK BANNING IS BACK!

Actually book bannings have never left us, but they are on the rise again. According to The American Library Association, they have received an “unprecedented” 330 reports of book challenges this last year. The proposed bans especially challenge books about sexual and racial identity and originate from diverse sources including the Wyoming prosecutor’s office, the Oklahoma State Senate, the Tennessee Board of Education and a school district in Washington State.

To take a closer look at this recent uptick in book banning, we suggest the following two articles.

From The New York Times, Book Ban Efforts Spread Across the U.S.

From The Atlantic, Read the Books That Schools Want to Ban

FACES
Artwork by Ellie Haus 

When Tania and Paul Abramson approached me to create a piece of artwork for the April 2022 issue of Breathe that would focus on banned books in schools, I thought it was too coincidental to pass up. Earlier that day I had been perusing the UCLA campus bookstore with some of my classmates and was struck by a familiar sight, the cover of the book Maus by Art Spiegelman. While I was distracted by Maus, my classmates (now aware of the books in front of them) started a conversation about books that were banned in schools. Half of them knew the situation and were explaining which books were banned and what “reasons” were given, while the other half attentively listened and were aghast at what they heard (they were international students, too overloaded with homework and news from their home countries to be receptive to the shortcomings happening in the U.S). That passing moment was all it took to spark a discussion on the issue. The irony of the recent book burning event in Tennessee paired with their banning of the book Maus, made for further ridicule from the group. 

A common excuse given for banning books involves hiding behind a “holier than thou” wannabe-Christian attitude, often claiming the issue lies with the book’s language and nude images. Those “justifications” were used to ban the books featured in this artwork. I chose four authors whose books have been banned on more than one occasion, Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou, Richard Wright, and James Baldwin. Using their portraits, I merged their faces, Toni Morrison in the upper left corner, Maya Angelou in the upper right, James Baldwin in the lower left, and Richard Wright in the lower right. Then, I used excerpts from their banned books to create one typographical portrait for their faces. Finally, the cross covering their mouth is meant to represent the common excuse given for banning their books. First, I lay the foundation of who is doing the banning, in Latin the horizontal words say “I don’t see color” a common phrase by people who do not want to acknowledge their prejudices and instead try to erase years, centuries, of atrocities done to minorities by now saying that everyone is the same. But everyone is not treated the same and we should acknowledge that fact. Furthermore, we should celebrate diversity and unique cultures from different people. The vertical line reads, “Don’t speak”- it’s what they really want to say, their true mission, not to protect children, but to control the people whose color they “don’t see”. This piece is meant to honor our illustrious authors, to shine a light on their works, and to expose the people who are trying to silence them. 

Books and Authors:

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Black Boy by Richard Wright
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou 
Go Tell it on the Mountain by James Baldwin 

ART INSPIRING US TOWARDS ACTION!
ACTION ADVANCING JUSTICE & STRONG ALLIANCES!