Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man” Banned From Randolph County Schools

The Randolph County School Board has voted to take Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man” from its library shelves after a parent complained. The Asheboro Courier-Tribune reports the board voted 5-2 at its meeting this week to remove all copies of the book. Committees at both the school and district levels recommended that the book remain in the libraries. A motion to keep the book on the shelves was defeated. Board members took the action on Monday in response to a complaint from the mother of a Randleman student who said the book was “too much for teenagers.” “Invisible Man” is a first-person narrative by a black man who considers himself socially invisible. It was originally published in 1952.