Banned Books – March 18, 2025
In keeping with celebrating Women’s History Month, this week’s article pays homage to women authors whose books are on the banned books list, giving us cause to wonder why we have a government willing and actively committing epistemicide towards its citizens. Epistemology is the study of knowledge and truth. Epistemicide is the systemic silencing or devaluing of a way of knowing or a knowledge system. The banning of most of these books amounts to cultural epistemicide. One must ask themselves why those in power seek to cover up the truth and stem the tide of knowledge. A quote came to mind that I use often, and I don’t know who to credit it to, but it goes like this, “Ego, projected by fear; projected by anger.”
This week’s publications are “The Joy Luck Club” by Amy Tan, “Black Bird in The Sky: The Story and Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre” by Brandy Colbert, and “Concrete Rose” by Angie Thomas.
If we look at other cultures, we’ll see that our life experiences aren’t that much different at all. The circumstances may change, but in the end, it’s all a mosaic reflecting our shared struggles and triumphs. “The Joy Luck Club” by Amy Tan is a story about the relationship between mothers and daughters of different generations. There are themes of American and Chinese heritage and the importance of knowing your family’s past to know yourself and shape your own destiny. Tan’s book was banned because of being sexually explicit.
Tan’s book was a Finalist for the National Book Award, a Finalist for the National Book Critic Circle Award, and named a prominent contribution to the Modern Period of American Literature by the New York Times.
“Black Bird in the Sky” by Brandy Colbert explores the once thriving community known as Black Wall Street, along with 100 years of history leading up to the event. The residents of the Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma, an affluent Black community, were assailed by a mob of White Supremacists, threatened by the economic and political advancement of their Black neighbors. This story tells the true story of American history, of what really occurred not just in Oklahoma but in every state in the union…history that lingers even in the 21st century.
In 2022, “Black Birds in the Sky” won the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Nonfiction and was a finalist for the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction. This book was banned and challenged primarily due to perceived connections to Critical Race Theory (CRT) and the portrayal of Black History.
Often, we’re undulated with stories about single mothers attempting to navigate the pitfalls of poverty, heart- break, and every other manner of difficult circumstances before achieving survival status and reigning in their lives “Concrete Rose” written by Angie Thomas, the prequel to “The Hate You Give” is the story of seventeen-year-old Maverick Carter, the son of a former gang legend. Maverick follows in the footsteps of his impris- oned father to support his mother, who is working two jobs.
The story deals with the complexities of relationships between a parent and a child, masculinity and the traditional idea of what a man is supposed to be, the hardships of being a single dad, and ultimately, the triumph of a young man under immense peer pressure choosing a different path in life to provide better outcomes for himself and his family.
This week, we have two works of fiction and one work of nonfiction, each reaching across cultural divides to show us that though our differences make us unique, our sameness makes us realize that both that uniqueness and sameness are what unites us as human beings.
