Don't Ban Books!
Why We Shouldn't Ban "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"
Why Are We Banning It?
Are those reasons valid?
The book has been challenged or banned 39 times since 1983. Usually it has been banned for sexual explicitness and vulgar language. In the book Maya is raped at the age of 8, and there are some curse words used throughout the story. Had this book been fictional there would be more reason to ban it. However, it is the true story of a real person and these events actually occured in her life.
As for the vulgar language, I think parents and schools alike should stop challenging books for that because teenagers hear equally bad if not worse words each day in public school. If you are attempting to ban a book because you are afraid of your child hearing foul language, you may want to consider taking them out of the public school system altogether.