'Invisible Man' Book Ban Reversed by NC School Board Following Backlash
A central North Carolina school board reversed its recent decision to ban Ralph Ellison's classic novel "Invisible Man" from school libraries after a fierce and prolonged outcry.
Five of the school board's seven elected officials voted on September 16 to ban the book after several board members stated that they found no literary value contained in the book.
After news of the book ban was revealed local residents began demanding the book be reinstated and with residents organizing a book giveaway with the book's publisher at a local bookstore.
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On Wednesday, after a very vocal and stern reaction to the band, the school board called a special meeting and voted 6-1 to remove the ban placed on the book.
One of the members that changed his vote said that he had read the book and enjoyed, but changed his mind after deciding that he can to the decision to ban the book too quickly.
"I felt like I came to a conclusion too quickly," board member Matthew Lambeth told Reuters.
He later revealed that he was sure the novel's educational importance was too great to ban the book over some of the sexual themes in the book.
The widely publicized ban by the Randolph County Board of Education in central North Carolina came after a mother of a high school student complained that the sexual content in the book, which had been chosen for a summer reading program was appropriate for teenagers and the school.
"Invisible Man" has long been a staple in the curriculum of U.S. high school and college literature classes.
Ellison achieved worldwide fame and success with "Invisible Man," which won the National Book Award for fiction in 1953 and was named by the Library of Congress as one of the "Books That Shaped America." Ellison died in 1994.
