"We look out for each other": Celebrating the Literary and Artistic Values of Kwame Alexander's The Undefeated (illustrated by Kadir Nelson), Rita Williams-Garcia's One Crazy Summer, and Octavia Butler's Kindred

Identifier

216

Author

Eric Justin Morris

Date

2022

Document Type

Honors Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Major

English

Concentration

Literature

Committee Chair

Lorinda Cohoon

Committee Member

Ladrica Menson-Furr

Committee Member

Elizabeth Weston

Abstract

This project examines recent legislation by the State of Tennessee that increases the ease with which books are challenged and removed from public K-12 schools, while simultaneously discounting the role that scholarship plays in defending those books. Three books of demonstrated literary merit are analyzed for content and relevance: Kwame Alexander's The Undefeated, Rita Williams-Garcia's One Crazy Summer, and Octavia E. Butler's Kindred. Then, it is demonstrated how easy the process of removal is for these books and others like them. Finally, the implications of the potential impact on future students and scholars are discussed to show the long-term effects of this devastating legislation.

Comments

Undergraduate Honor's Thesis

Library Comment

Honors thesis originally submitted to the Local University of Memphis Honor’s Thesis Repository.

Recommended Citation

Morris, Eric Justin, ""We look out for each other": Celebrating the Literary and Artistic Values of Kwame Alexander's The Undefeated (illustrated by Kadir Nelson), Rita Williams-Garcia's One Crazy Summer, and Octavia Butler's Kindred" (2022). Honors Theses. 134.
https://digitalcommons.memphis.edu/honors_theses/134