Why Ban Bronx Masquerade?

As I was reading Nikki Grimes’ Bronx Masquerade, I could not figure out why this book was banned. While I am vehemently against the idea of banning books as a whole, usually I can at least identify why some parties want to censor certain stories. I understand why The Color Purple was banned by conservative forces for its depiction of sexual assault and homosexuality even if I believe that those things have no right to be censored by interest groups with no connection to those experiences. Bronx Masquerade perplexed me, however, as most of its more mature themes are in the background. It did not linger on some of these heavy topics in a way that I thought could lend some to censor it.

The bulk of the story explores the writings of Mr. Ward’s students. While many have tragic backgrounds that deal with heavy topics, they are all referenced and referred to in the past tense. None of these darker ideas are lingered on or shown in the present like in The Color Purple. For example, one of the last poems in Bronx Masquerade, “A Letter to my Mother,” is probably the most explicit and heavy poem in the entire piece, yet I can still imagine a younger reader glossing over the references to a “hypodermic needle” and not quite understanding what happened to Porscha’s mother (Grimes, 161). It is not as upfront with its “explicit content,” so why did conservative groups feel the need to ban it?
My theory is that it was not about the content of the collection itself, but rather the groups it gives voice to. Not many stories are told from the perspective of young people of color, and many that do try to avoid the topic of race altogether. Bronx Masquerade not only gives voice to many young people of color, but it does so in a very real and authentic way. It does not shy away from talking about race, which is a topic that is problematic in and of itself to much of the white majority. Many conservative white people in power want to quell discussions of race as they see them as a threat to their own security on the top. Without books like Bronx Masquerade, The Color Purple, and so many others by authors of color telling the stories of marginalized voices, it would be much easier for the white elites to silence discussions of race.