'Mockingbird' returns to Oklahoma high school's reading list

By The Associated Press

10.15.01

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MUSKOGEE, Okla. — To Kill a Mockingbird will once again be on the freshmen reading list at Muskogee High School.

The school board voted Oct. 9 to reverse an August decision removing Harper Lee's 1960 novel from the list.

Principal Terry Saul had removed the book from the reading list in light of complaints over the years from black students and parents about racial slurs in the text.

Assistant Principal Dan Hattaway said a review of the reading list found that "all the books use some language that shouldn't be used in school. But if you threw out everything that was objectionable to people, we'd be using a watered-down version or we'd all be reading Dr. Seuss."

Saul said the school has a list of opt-out books for students who object to reading any of the required books.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning novel centers on the wrongful conviction of a black man for raping a white woman. The story is told from the viewpoint of the young daughter of the man's attorney.

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