October 4th – 10th is Banned Books Week. For each day of Banned Books Week, TBR Books is featuring a banned book that we have available in our store. Today’s banned book is Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston.
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Written by Zora Neale Hurston and published in 1937, Their Eyes Were Watching God recounts the story of main character Janie Crawford’s life, including three marriages and her journey of self discovery. The book is written in Southern Black vernacular, and it is considered an important and influential classic.
In 1997, it was banned for language and sexual explicitness in Brentsville, Virginia, but the ban was later overturned and the book was retained on the advanced reading list.
In 2005, it was banned in Anne Arundel County Public Schools in Maryland.
In 2007, it was banned in Prince William County Schools in Virginia.
In 2008, it was banned in Burke County Schools in North Carolina.
In 2021, it was banned in Edmond Public School District in Oklahoma.
In 2023, it was banned in Collier County Public Schools and Brevard County Schools in Florida and three different school districts in Iowa.
In 2024, it was banned in Lee County Schools in Florida, King George County Schools in Virginia, and twelve different school districts in Iowa.
In 2025, it was banned in Monroe County Schools in Tennessee.
For further reading, you can check out this article from the National Endowment for the Arts. You can also find a helpful study guide on LiteraryDevices.net.
At the end of Banned Books Week, you’ll be able to find all of this week’s book descriptions on the 2026 Banned Books Week page.
No AI was used in the making of this post, and all sources should be linked. Please let us know if anything is missing.
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