Book banning has been around as long as there have been books to ban. This happens throughout history whenever a brave writer or philosopher has enough courage to share what they think is right or too explicit the truth. What would the world be without changing literary classics like Uncle Tom's Cabin, Huckleberry Finn or The Catcher in the Rye? If everyone only read what is allowed and censored, then everyone would only think about what is allowed and censored, and the world would never be questioned or improved. If you never let someone see differently, how can they be expected to think anything new? Easy access to different learning materials is essential. Books should not be removed from libraries and stores because some people disagree with their controversial content. Picture this, it's 450 BC and the writings of Anaxagoras have just been banned in Rome because they were too questionable and went against the teachings of the Church (Curd 1). Now fast forward and it's 2012, and Stephen Chbosky's Perks of Being a Wallflower has just been banned from an Ohio high school for controversial content such as drugs, alcohol, homosexuality, sexual abuse and teenage pregnancy (Doyle 5). These two cases have one thing in common; the stifling of learning and the opportunity for new knowledge. In both examples, the writer is testing new boundaries, things never questioned or written about before. Anaxagoras taught, in short, that “all things have existed from the beginning.” and was well known for his “all in all” theory (Curd 11). While Chbosky told the heartbreaking coming-of-age story of a boy named Charlie. Prohibition has always taken place, especially when it comes to the church not agreeing with its con...... middle of paper ......guarantee of law and freedom of speech and press, books are still frequently challenged, and this law can easily take books out of the hands of greedy minds and make it more difficult for a young mind to read anything other than what has been permitted. When a book is challenged, it can be done for many reasons, such as offensive language, age-inappropriate language, explicit sexuality, violence, homosexuality, or religious/political grounds (Fliess 2 ). In 1876, the nonprofit organization the American Library Association, or ALA, was founded. The ALA promotes library education throughout the world. This group still exists today and encourages book freedom (Nix 4). Each year, they dedicate the last week of September to celebrating the freedom to read. They are taking advantage of this “Banned Books Week” to raise awareness of the harms of censorship and to challenge.