Language and sexuality or “obscenity” were most often cited as the reason for the majority of the unofficial complaints and criticisms, as was whether or not the book, a Pulitzer Prize winner that deals with issues of racism, violence against women, and rape, has literary value that was age appropriate for the students. 2014Ĭhallenged, but retained as a Brunswick County (NC) Advanced Placement English eleventh-grade assignment. The list of more than 30 titles included The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes, Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin, Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Dear Martin by Nic Stone, The Color Purple by Alice Walker, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Beloved by Toni Morrison, The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander, Pink Is for Boys by Robb Pearlman, and Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson. The Protect Nebraska Children Coalition brought an extensive list of books to the Wauneta-Pallisade (NE) Public Schools board meeting and wanted the books removed from both the elementary and high school libraries. “The Color Purple” has ranked 17th on the American Library Associations list of most challenged or banned books, primarily for its language, violence, and homosexuality.Marshall University does not ban books! The information is provided to let people know what has been banned/challenged elsewhere. A revival debuted in 2015, and it won the Best Revival Tony award in 2016. In 2005, it was adapted into a Broadway Musical and was also nominated for 11 Tony Awards, winning only one: Best Leading Actress in a Musical for LaChanze. The film was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actress, and twice for Best Supporting Actress, but it failed to win any Oscars. In 1985, it was made into a movie directed by Steven Spielberg and starred Whoopi Goldberg (Celie), Oprah Winfrey (Sofia), and Danny Glover (Mister). The novel won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award in 1983. Celie’s life experiences and observations of those around her is contrasted by letters from Nettie, who travels to Africa with some missionaries.

Set in 1930s Georgia, the book touches on issues of female empowerment and misogyny, racism, domestic violence and sexual assault, gender norms and sexuality, religion, education, and family through the lens of Celie’s evolving perspectives on life. Presented as a series of letters written by the main character, Celie, and her sister Nettie, the novel focuses on many themes surrounding the lives of black women in the south.

Written in 1982, Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple” is widely considered a modern literary classic.

The color purple book