underdogishere

What can I say? It's been a very, very busy past two weeks at work. Is that the reason? Whatever it is, I missed Banned Books Week this year. It ends today. How could I let this happen? I love Banned Books Week. Anyway, here's my belated post for Banned Books Week, 2009:

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To those who are active for a cause -- civil rights, the environment, abortion rights, heck, even anti-abortion rights -- it's often a point of pride to be arrested and convicted in the service of the cause. Recently the mayor of some Southern city offered a pardon to any activist convicted of a crime during the Civil Rights movement: They only had to ask and their record would be wiped clean. Almost no one asked. That conviction that comes up during every background check isn't something to be ashamed of. It's a badge of honor. I've even heard of parties thrown for activists when they reach a milestone -- say, twenty five, or even fifty, arrests and convictions.

If an activist takes pride in the number of his or her convictions, then for a "banned" book the measure of pride must be the number of times that someone asks to have it stricken from a library's shelves. Did you know that And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, has been the book most requested to be banned for...

...three straight years.

Truly a badge of honor.

And there's one more great reason for me to recommend And Tango Makes Three: If, like me, you blew off Banned Books Week until the last minute this year... it's an illustrated childrens book, so it won't take you any time to read. You can still squeak in under the deadline.

Labels: Banned Books Week