Alice Walker Banned

by Alice Walker, Patricia Holt (Introduction)

Introduction by Patricia Holt

Throughout her distinguished career, Alice Walker's work has been at the center of controversies around language, censorship, truth and art. Alice Walker Banned explores just what it is that various groups have found so threatening in Walker's work, bringing together the short stories "Roselily" and "Am I Blue?," an excerpt from the novel The Color Purple, as well as testimonies, letters, and essays about attempts to censor Walker's work by the California State Board of Education. The introduction by San Francisco Chronicle Book Review editor Patricia Holt offers insightful and ironic commentary on the efforts of the Traditional Values Coalition to pressure the State Board of Education into withdrawing Walker's stories from a statewide exam, while excerpts from a Board of Education hearing offer views from across the political spectrum on these efforts to censor Walker's work.



…a fascinating, frightening book…

—Mirabella

…an invaluable contribution to the literature of censorship…

—Booklist

…this book will allow a cooler, more informed discussion of an important debate.

—Library Journal

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Classics, Essays

108 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1996

About the author

Noted American writer Alice Walker won a Pulitzer Prize for her stance against racism and sexism in such novels as The Color Purple (1982).

People awarded this preeminent author of stories, essays, and poetry of the United States. In 1983, this first African woman for fiction also received the national book award. Her other books include The Third Life of Grange Copeland , Meridian , The Temple of My Familiar , and Possessing the Secret of Joy . In public life, Walker worked to address problems of injustice, inequality, and poverty as an activist, teacher, and public intellectual.

Reviews

[Justin Pickett · Rating 4 out of 5]

The two included short stories were banned for being “anti-religious” and “anti-meat-eating.” The first story is okay, but the second story is great. Here are brief summaries of both:

Roselily (Three Stars)

On her wedding day—indeed, at the wedding, in front of the preacher—a woman self-consciously appraises the inadequacies of her impending marriage, in terms of its implications for her dreams and future happiness. I imagine that what got this story banned was the comment about being repulsed by, and wanting to strike, a preacher.

“She wants to live for once. But doesn’t know quite what that means. Wonders if she has ever done it. If she ever will.” (pp. 28-29).

Am I Blue? (Five Stars)

Blue is a horse that the narrator’s neighbor is boarding. Blue’s experiences and interactions with the narrator (and with others) speak to patterns, both positive and negative, of human relatedness: loneliness, communication, denigration, love, forced separation.

“It was a look so piercing, so full of grief, a look so human … [we] have forgotten, and daily forget, all that animals try to tell us. ‘Everything you do to us will happen to you; we are your teachers, as you are ours. We are one lesson’” (p. 41).

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Came across this slim volume by chance while looking for You Can't Keep a Good Woman Down in the library. It is comprised of a short introduction outlining the controversy surrounding Walker's work in California schools, the two short stories that were in question, the beginning of The Color Purple and an appendix with pro/con letters to the editor and a partial transcript of the school board meeting.

I read it in one sitting and it restored my interest in reading short stories given the last collection I read was such a slog. "Roselily" and "Am I Blue?" are truly powerful and get you right in the gut. Roselily was removed from school tests for being "anti-religious" and "Am I Blue?" for "anti-meat eating."

Roselily presents the turbulent, unsure thoughts of a girl as she is wed. The layers in this story are incredible. The contradictions in her "choice" to marry; one can probably argue that she doesn't truly have one. I loved its structure - creative and different.

Considering the intersectionality of "Am I Blue?", it's quite laughable that people aimed to get it removed for the most benign portion. I'm sure it was more about its unapologetic stance towards racism (citing slavery and Native American genocide) and sexism. I think the use of an animal in demonstrating the way that oppression is linked is quite brilliant. The ruminations on the treatment and suffering of animals aren't so much privileging as giving animal rights a place alongside other forms of oppression in a complicated, interconnected web.

An even more interesting contortion of the debate is that the "pro-family" groups (Eagle Forum, aka pro-heterosexual-patriarchal-1950s-christian-white-family) that came out against these stories in force during the board meetings framed it as a "parental rights" issue. They maintained that parents have the right to dictate the curriculum due to their taxes. I would be curious to see what kind of stories would be given the seal of approval by these groups - I'm sure it would be a field day picking apart the politics of privilege, "neutrality" and the stuff deemed family friendly.

Overall, an interesting little volume that was worth the read for both the stories and the politics regarding the efforts to ban Walker's work in schools. The Same River Twice, which is about Walker's portrayal of African-American men is cited at the end of the book and is one I'll be sure to check out.

[Spencer Fancutt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read. Covers the circumstances and debate surrounding the banning (or in many cases, just removal as a curriculum item) of some of Alice Walker's work. Includes two fine short pieces and excerpts from The Color Purple. Most interesting to me were the transcripts in the appendices of statements from figures on all sides of the debate from the Traditional Values Committee to the NAACP. Worthwhile.

[Katarina · Rating 5 out of 5]

A few of her works and an amazing Introduction explaining why censoring is so dangerous and how important Alice Walker’s writing is… incredible. I want to read more of her poems and short stories. I want to reread The Color Purple all over again too.

[h · Rating 4 out of 5]

“am i blue?” loveeee a shorty story

[Macey Lane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Queen of the short story 🫡 I really liked the background on when and why things were banned and how those decisions were made too!

[Shomeret · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to say that I didn't think much of the stories "Roselily" and "Am I Blue?". They were too overtly didactic without much in the way of plot or characterization. These are the stories that weren't considered appropriate for an exam for 10th graders. I don't think that 10th graders need to be protected from them regardless of my opinion of them as literature.

The book includes testimony given at the hearing about removing the stories. I was impressed by the argument given by the librarian Zita Rain in favor of retaining them. She said that the purpose of including stories in the exam was to test the ability of students to express their thoughts on the story. She maintained that controversial stories like these two could easily precipitate responses. So this means that the stories were appropriate.

[stellajames · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actually, five stars for Walker's excerpts which I already read in their completed forms. Three for most of the rest. NOT what I expected. I thought the whole book was Alice Walker! It is mostly transcripts from arguments for and against banning two of her pieces by the California school district from a standardized test. No other name was on the book, leading me to believe "Banned" was written by Walker. Don't be fooled, it isn't. Bah.

[Katie Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great excerpts that prove you don't need to read ten volumes of "high theory" to exercise your mind muscle. Am I Blue? is truly impactful and insightful. Walker's story about marriage engages readers to think about how traditional institutions like marriage and religion intersect with race, civil rights and gender--and how the latter is often at odds with race-centered rights movements.

[Ficie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very short book -just a couple of short stories, excerpts from "The colour purple" and some info - but quite interesting. I liked the story "Am I Blue?" and the details of the ridiculous controversy it caused.

[Georgia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an important book in the new era of protests to freedom of speech. I am giving this to my tenth grader because I think that it is important for my tenth grader to think critically as the excerpts from Alice's work were originally intended.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the stories by Alice Walker, but was hoping to find a book that was just her stories. The information on why her books were banned were interesting.