To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the 20th century’s most important novels. Published in 1960, and winner of the Pulitzer Prize, it stated firmly that black lives matter very much – eight years before the death of Martin Luther King and 60 years before the death of George Floyd. Yes, the issues are still very much with us and it’s essential that we go on talking about them, especially in schools.
That’s why I was upset to see that this book which has been repeatedly banned over the years, grade required reading list in the Washington State district of Mulkiteo, although teachers remain free to use TKAMB if they wish. This arose because three teachers from Kamiak High School object. One of them, Doug Baer, opined that “kids should not have to endure embarrassing and offensive language” during class discussions.
