Which 1960 novel by Harper Lee was banned in some schools for its racial themes?

The 1960 novel by Harper Lee banned in some schools for its racial themes was To Kill a Mockingbird.

Harper Lee’s first novel is narrated by Scout Finch, a child growing up in the fictional Alabama town of Maycomb during the 1930s. The plot centers on her father, lawyer Atticus Finch, defending Tom Robinson, a Black man falsely accused of assaulting a white woman. Through Scout’s eyes, the novel examines racism, prejudice, conscience, and the limits of justice.

The book became a frequent target of school challenges because of racial slurs, discussions of sexual violence, and objections to its treatment of race. Some schools have removed or restricted it, while others continue teaching it alongside historical and literary context. The novel’s anti-racist intentions do not prevent legitimate debate about whose perspective it centers.

The title comes from Atticus’s lesson that harming a mockingbird is wrong because it causes no harm and only makes music. The symbol is linked especially to Tom Robinson and the reclusive Boo Radley.