According to the American Library Association, nearly 400 book titles were targeted for bans in Virginia last year.
During a recent appearance at the Texas Tribune Festival, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin talked about the politics of school boards banning books like Toni Morrison's Beloved. Here's part of his interaction with Texas Tribune founder Evan Smith.
"I remember reading Beloved in school in English class," Smith said. "Is that the kind of book that we want to pull off of a library shelf?”
"What grade did you read it in," Youngkin asked.
"I mean, high school," Smith responded.
"Is it appropriate for a first grader or a second grader," the governor asked.
"I'm not sure that any school that I can imagine is teaching Beloved to a first grader," Smith replied.
"I'm just asking, though," Youngkin said back. "I’m just asking."
Just asking about schools teaching Toni Morrison in the first grade is a disingenuous argument, says author Kenneth C. Davis.
"Well of course, that's an absurdity. No one is suggesting that first graders read Beloved," Davis says. "On the other hand, we might suggest that a first grader read Heather Has Two Mommies or the Penguins in Central Park because they are age appropriate. So, this is to me a very disingenuous argument."
Davis has a new book out next month called "The World in Books," and he says many of the world's greatest books have been banned, not just Toni Morrison but also the Koran and the Bible.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
