Imagine a world where the United States didn’t have free speech, because that is what's happening slowly. States around the U.S are banning one of the most loved novels, To Kill a Mockingbird because it’s “too inappropriate”. Others say it’s harmful for children to read. Although the language may be offensive to some, MCHS students should read To Kill a Mockingbird since it can spark thoughtful and interesting discussions about racial intolerance and help them gain maturity from being exposed to others' ideas. To begin with, banning this book and others can stop the intriguing discussions students can have about racial intolerance. In “Why To Kill a Mockingbird keeps getting banned,” by Becky Little, she says, “Atticus tells his children at one point. When asked if he is a radical, an implicit question about his commitment to civil rights, Atticus says he’s “about as radical as Cotton Tom Heflin”— a white supremacist senator and member of the KKK.” This could spark a very thoughtful discussion between students to determine what …show more content…
Some words from Brianne Parker in “‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ changed my life — so don’t ban controversial books from high schools,” she says, “My family is always talking about the injustices that African-Americans have to face on a daily basis, so I was used to the problems presented in the book. But seeing my classmates’ reactions to the unfair jury and verdict made me realize that they’d had a different lens on the world.” (5). This shows how from reading this book, they learned about how African-Americans face injustices they didn’t know about previously. Many kids, including myself, had no idea about what African-Americans went through daily until they read them or saw them in the media. This exposure to racism can help kids mature, learn how to not act, and recognize hardships African-Americans go