{"id":191,"date":"2011-02-20T20:23:50","date_gmt":"2011-02-21T01:23:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/world.edu\/?post_type=worldedu_posts&p=11925"},"modified":"2016-07-01T17:47:33","modified_gmt":"2016-07-01T21:47:33","slug":"banned-book-awareness-daddys-roommate-michael-willhoite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bbark.deepforestproductions.com\/column\/2011\/02\/20\/banned-book-awareness-daddys-roommate-michael-willhoite\/","title":{"rendered":"Banned Books Awareness: \u201cDaddy\u2019s Roommate\u201d by Michael Willhoite"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Since 1990 there have been more than 50,000 incidents in which a book\u2019s right to an existence has been called into question.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 For nothing more than the simple fact that they expressed ideas that made someone, somewhere, feel uncomfortable; and that discomfort was taken as a personal offense.<\/p>\n

There is a list of book titles that has been tossed around the internet since 2008 that Sarah Palin tried to have banned, but it’s a fake<\/a>.\u00a0 However, it is established fact that the one-time vice-presidential candidate had indeed attempted to pull books off library shelves.\u00a0 The McCain-Palin presidential campaign claimed Palin never advocated censorship, but participant and witness accounts say otherwise. <\/em><\/p>\n

The New York Times reported in 2008<\/a> that while a member of the City Council of Wasilla, Alaska, she criticized a book called “Daddy’s Roommate<\/em><\/a>“, written and illustrated by Michael Willhoite, to colleagues.\u00a0 In 1995, Palin told colleagues that she had noticed the book on the shelves and that \u201cit did not belong there\u201d, according to Laura Chase, a member of Palin\u2019s campaign. Ms. Chase read the book, which helps children understand homosexuality, and said it was inoffensive and suggested that Palin read it.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/em>Sarah said she \u2018didn\u2019t need to read that stuff\u2019,\u201d Ms. Chase recalled. \u201cIt was disturbing that someone would be willing to remove a book from the library that she didn\u2019t even read.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later, according to an ABCNews report<\/a>, Palin, once she was mayor, asked the town’s librarian on three separate occasions whether she would agree to remove such controversial books from the shelves.\u00a0 All three times, the librarian refused. \u00a0Palin eventually fired her, but bowed to public pressure and gave the woman her job back.<\/p>\n

A favorite of censors, this children’s book about gay parents has been the subject of challenges in public libraries across the nation since it was published in 1991. \u00a0In a now all-too-familiar request, a parent complained about references to homosexuality in material for children and local debates started springing up around the country.<\/p>\n

In this picture book (ages 2-5), Frank and Daddy are seen pursuing a familiar daily routine; and on weekends the entire family goes on various outings.\u00a0 It’s a straightforward view of an alternative family.\u00a0 Daddy’s Roommate<\/em> was one of the first children’s books to portray gay life in a positive way; the gay couple does many of the same things heterosexual couples do: household chores, argues, shows affection, and spends time with their kid.<\/p>\n

The book has become one of the most banned books in recent years.\u00a0 The American Library Association listed it as number 2 in their list of the 100 most challenged books from 1990-2000, due to its subject matter and targeted audience.<\/p>\n

In 2005 in Centerville, Indiana, the newly-elected Centerville School Board felt the need to \u201cprotect its students from exposure and access to controversial materials\u201d. Therefore, the School Board proposed banning the following books from their system: Daddy’s Roommate<\/em> by Michael Willhoite, Heather Has Two Mommies<\/em> by Leslea Newman, Understanding Sexual Identity<\/em> by Janice Rench, and Huckleberry Finn<\/em> by Mark Twain.<\/p>\n

This policy included not just removing the books from school libraries, but prohibiting their use in the curriculum, and prohibiting students and teachers from even having the books on school property.<\/p>\n

In May of 1998 The Wichita Falls Public Library in Texas received challenges from Rev. Ron Killingsworth to both books.\u00a0 At least 15 people in Wichita Falls volunteered to buy the public library replacement copies of Daddy’s Roommate<\/em> and Heather Has Two Mommies<\/em> in protest of Rev. Robert Jeffress’ refusal to return the copies brought to him by one of his parishioners.<\/p>\n

“The people I’ve spoken with are very angry the books have been taken,” Library Administrator Linda Hughes told the Wichita Times Record<\/em>.\u00a0 “Everyone has to make their own decision as to what to do,” Jeffress remarked.\u00a0 He has issued the library a check for $54 in replacement costs and fines.<\/p>\n

A Lawrence, New Jersey resident, Keith Smith, wanted Daddy’s Roommate <\/em>removed. <\/em> He got what he wanted by complaining to the Mercer County Library commission and to the County Executive Rober Prunetti.\u00a0 His complaints eventually prompted the library commission to move the book, along with Heather Has Two Mommies<\/em>, out of the children’s section and into the parenting section. \u00a0Smith is treasurer of the Lawrence Republican Club, but Prunetti said politics was not involved. \u00a0“A lot of people are affiliated with Democrats or Republicans,” he said.\u00a0 \u201cWhat difference does it make?”<\/p>\n

The move angered librarians and many parents. A library system review committee had recommended that the books remain in the children’s section.\u00a0That decision was reversed by the commission after Prunetti said he simply passed a note on to the county counsel, who later advised the commission to review Smith’s complaint.<\/p>\n

As a result of the incident, the book remains in the parenting section of the library.<\/p>\n

*to read the previous discussion thread visit my original posting of this article on Facebook<\/a>*<\/p>\n

Sources: American Library Association, Detroit Free Press, New York Times, ABCNews<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a9 2011 R. Wolf Baldassarro\/Deep Forest Productions<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since 1990 there have been more than 50,000 incidents in which a book\u2019s right to an existence has been called into question.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 For nothing more than the simple fact that they expressed ideas that made someone, somewhere, feel uncomfortable; and that discomfort was taken as a personal offense. There […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[377,378,379,2],"tags":[446],"class_list":["post-191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-banned-books","category-banned-books-awareness-and-reading-for-knowledge","category-censorship","category-social-change","tag-daddys-roommate"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bbark.deepforestproductions.com\/column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bbark.deepforestproductions.com\/column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bbark.deepforestproductions.com\/column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bbark.deepforestproductions.com\/column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bbark.deepforestproductions.com\/column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=191"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bbark.deepforestproductions.com\/column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1166,"href":"https:\/\/bbark.deepforestproductions.com\/column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191\/revisions\/1166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bbark.deepforestproductions.com\/column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bbark.deepforestproductions.com\/column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bbark.deepforestproductions.com\/column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}