children's author's statement against Alabama censorship

[villager]

From the website of kid lit scribe Chris Crutcher:

In response to the WHALE TALK challenge in Alabama.


To the Citizens of the Limestone School District, and to the Board of Education:



I understand there is a challenge to the use of my book Whale Talk in your schools and I thought it might be of some help to talk about what is behind the story. From what I have been told, the major issue is the language used by the characters in the book. Probably the most offensive scene, taken out of context, would be on page 68 and 69 where a four and a half year old mixed race girl is working in a play therapy session, mirroring what her life is like living with a racist stepfather and a mother who won’t protect her. In the course of her therapy she is taking the role of the offender, yelling out all the names that she herself endures on a daily basis. Because she is screaming the words, they are in large font, which, I assume, makes them even more offensive to those paging through the book. The scene read in the context of the story, I believe, is heartbreaking. It is also true. It is something I have seen played out by a real four and a half year old mixed race girl in that very situation. Of course some things have been changed to fit this story, and to mask it from the real event, but it is real, and it is actually milder that what I witnessed in that case, and in hundreds of others.



Censors can make a case for zero tolerance in language. They can make the argument that since we don’t allow our children to use that language in schools, we also shouldn’t give them stories in which it is used. But that’s an easy thing to deal with, and I’ve seen it done a hundred times. Teachers bring up the offensiveness of the language and talk about why it’s used to make a story real. We don’t have to use the language to talk about the story in the classroom, but we can certainly talk about the raw power of any good story told in its native tongue.



I worked full time as a therapist in the world of child abuse and neglect for fifteen years, and continue to do pro-bono work even today. I hear stories like these and stories far worse on a regular basis. I am struck by the fact that the kids I hear them from, populate our classrooms. They do not tell their stories because many of them feel shame because they are treated that way, and they hold the secret; the only real power they have over their situations. They would rather be angry or depressed than vulnerable, and so they sit, many of them believing they are alone. Stories like Whale Talk and other, far better stories, let them know they are not alone, while not forcing them to talk about their personal situations at the same time. When we censor these stories, we censor the kids themselves. Imagine falling in love with a book because somehow it mirrors your life, and gives meaning to it, and may even offer solutions to your personal situation, only to have those in power over you censor it because it is offensive. All but the most hard nosed of us might think our very lives were offensive.

<snip>

More at:

http://www.chriscrutcher.com/index.2ts?page=alabama

[LizW]

1. Beautiful letter

I haven't read the book in question, but the author's explaination of why it is wrong to censor it and other controversial books is very powerful. I'm glad I read this, because it helps me to have clearly in mind the arguments to make when this issue arises in my community.

[villager]

2. it's a good template

...to have against the Know-Nothings...