The Burbank Unified School District located in California has officially put the books “To Kill A Mockingbird” and “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” on the district’s banned books list.

The decision came after a student repeated a racial slur he learned from the book to another classmate.

The non-profit organization, PEN America, started a petition arguing that it was not appropriate for the books to be banned by the district. The petition says, “Each of the books in question deals with difficult subject matter from our country’s complicated and painful history, including systemic racism. Blocking engagement with these important books is also avoiding the important role that schools can and should play in providing context for why these books inspire and challenge us still today.”

With the access kids have to the internet and everything going on in the world, these two books should be the last thing we are worried about our next generation learning about. Our youth needs to understand our history and learn how we got to where we are today. We can’t change history, but we can learn from it.
What are your thoughts on school districts banning classic books?