After complaints about the "wording" in To Kill A Mockingbird, the Biloxi school district is pulling it from their curriculum. The Sun Herald reports that the administrative and department decision happened on Wednesday or Thursday, and was not something that the school board voted on. 

The American classic which was being taught in 8th grade English Language Arts classes deals with rape and racial inequality in a small Southern town. 

The vice president of the Biloxi School Board, Kenny Holloway, said, “There were complaints about it. There is some language in the book that makes people uncomfortable, and we can teach the same lesson with other books. It’s still in our library. But they’re going to use another book in the 8th-grade course.”

Many people are calling the pulling of the book censorship. One reader of the Herald commented on the act saying:

 “I think it is one of the most disturbing examples of censorship I have ever heard, in that the themes in the story humanize all people regardless of their social status, education level, intellect, and of course, race. It would be difficult to find a time when it was more relevant than in days like these.”

The novel was published in 1960, won the Pulitzer Prize in fiction the next year and was adapted into an Oscar-winning film in 1962. The American Library Association lists “To Kill A Mockingbird” as No. 21 in the most banned or challenged books in the last decade. 

It's honestly doing students a disservice to take it out of the curriculum because otherwise, they may never read the book which is a deeply moving and thought-provoking tale. People underestimate the power of curriculum. Some of the books we read in school can change our lives. 

After much backlash, we will have to wait and see if there will be pushback on this decision.