Yes to ‘Mein Kampf.’ No to ‘The Color Purple.’ Which books are banned in Texas prisons?

From The Texas Newsroom:

Why is Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple” banned in Texas prisons, but Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” is allowed?

Also on the banned list? “Beekeeping for Dummies,” dozens of comic books and multiple titles by Stephen King, James Patterson and Anne Rice. Books on coding, tax preparation, gambling, tai chi and wrestling are also on the no-no list.

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has banned more than 10,000 books over the years. This means none of the 134,000 incarcerated people in Texas prisons can get their hands on a copy.

The Texas Newsroom requested lists of which books are and are not allowed inside state prisons under public information laws and analyzed them for patterns. We found comic books are banned most often, with some of the world’s most prolific authors finding themselves on both the prohibited and approved lists.

We are publishing the lists in full during Banned Books Week.

A spokesperson for the Department of Criminal Justice says the agency has reviewed the list of banned materials in recent years and approved previously rejected books. They’ve also made more titles available by distributing tablets with access to 50,000 e-books to incarcerated people.

“TDCJ will continue to evaluate processes and make improvements to meet the needs of the population, while also prioritizing the security and safety of our staff and the individuals in our custody,” Amanda Hernandez said in a statement.

Is there another book you have questions about? Email us at tips@kut.org.

Which books are banned inside Texas prisons?

The state prisons department restricts six categories of content inside its lockups.

Books that may facilitate an escape, incite a riot or assist with the manufacture of drugs or alcohol will land a book on the banned list. This is why books on tai chi, martial arts and wrestling are banned. The prisons department said they contain “fighting techniques.”

Maps are banned because they could facilitate escape. Two books on essential oils are also banned in this category. When asked to elaborate, department spokesperson Amanda Hernandez said the books contain information about plants that could be “eaten to survive in the wilderness.”

Books that discuss how to set up a criminal scheme or enterprise, or how to avoid detection by law enforcement, are also not allowed.

Books about so-called manipulation techniques, like Robert Greene’s “Art of Seduction,” are banned under this category. So are the tax books, which contain blank forms the agency said could be used to perpetrate fraud.

Descriptions of illegal sex acts like rape, bestiality or sex with a minor are also not allowed. This is why many classic or critically- acclaimed works of literature are on the banned list, like “The Color Purple.”

Nude illustrations or pictures are also generally not allowed. The department defines “sexually explicit image” as “intended to cause sexual excitement or arousal,” or shows full frontal nudity, the anus or buttocks (including partially covered) and discharge or bodily fluids “in the context of sexual activity.”

For this reason, graphic novelists and manga authors dominate the top 10 most banned books. Some of the best selling works of the last couple of decades in his genre are not allowed, like Garth Ennis’ “Punisher,” Neil Gaiman’s “Sandman” and Alan Moore’s “Watchmen.”

Brian K. Vaughan is the no. 5 most banned author, with a couple dozen titles on the list. The prisons department has banned several of his most popular works, including “Ex Machina,” “Saga” and “Y: The Last Man.”

Vaughan told The Texas Newsroom comics are obvious targets.

“Graphic novels are, at once, I think, hugely appealing to readers,” he said. “It’s also much easier, I think, to flip through, you know, and say, ‘oh, there’s a nipple.’”

Other prison systems also prohibit books with similar content. Wardens of the federal Bureau of Prisons have more leeway; they can prohibit anything found to be “detrimental to the security, discipline or good order of the institution or if it might facilitate criminal activity.”

However, works may not be rejected solely because its content is religious, philosophical, political, social or sexual or “because its content is unpopular or repugnant.”

Which books are allowed inside Texas prisons?

The Department of Criminal Justice reviewed its book ban policy in 2018.

Previously, mailroom staff at each of the more than 100 prisons decided which books to approve and prohibit, after which incarcerated people could appeal the decisions to a panel of prison administrators.

Now, if staff believes a book should be banned, the decision is automatically referred to the Director Review Committee. If the committee agrees to prohibit the book, the incarcerated person, publisher or sender can appeal. If an incarcerated person receives a banned book, they can pay to send the book to someone or it is destroyed.

There are now more than 350,000 titles on the state prison department’s list of approved books — an increase of more than 100,000 since the review.

Westerns and detective stories are among the most popular. William Johnstone has the most approved titles. Some romance novelists like Nora Roberts are also in high demand.

After the 2018 review, it appears that some books that were previously on the banned list are now approved.

This includes “Freakonomics,” the book-cum-NPR podcast that explores economics stories from an nontraditional lens. The book was banned, a department spokesperson said at the time, because it contains “racial content” that could be construed as being “written solely for the purpose of communicating information designed to achieve the breakdown of prisons through offender disruption.”

Now, “Freakonomics” is on the approved list.

A selection of books banned in Texas prisons are shown on Tuesday, September 10, 2024.
Deborah Cannon/KUT News

There are some controversial books also allowed inside prisons.

Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” is the most obvious. When asked why, spokesperson Hernandez reiterated the department’s prohibited categories.

“No other reasons are considered when accepting or banning a book,” she said.

Two books by David Duke, former grand wizard of the KKK, are also on the approved list.

But several books are banned for containing themes of race or racial slurs.

Hernandez said these books contain materials that “a reasonable person” would believe would be “written solely for the purpose of communicating information designed to achieve the breakdown of prisons through inmate disruption.”

These include the farcical work “A Practical Guide to Racism” and “The Second: Race and Guns in a Fatally Unequal America” by Carol Anderson, who also wrote “White Rage.”

But that title and “We Are Not Yet Equal,” also by Anderson, are on the approved list.

Hernandez said “The Second” was denied for “causing an inmate disruption.”

Vaughan, the comic book artist, says the decisions seem arbitrary.

He wonders why the prisons department cares to ban explicit images, but not blood and gore and says works like Saga should not be banned for a few racy images. Illustrated by Fiona Staples, the series is one of the most popular sci-fi comics of the 21st century and tells the tale of two alien creatures from different worlds on the run to protect their child.

“This story, which is about redemption and forgiveness and the power of non-violence, means a lot to people who are able to get a hold of it.” He then joked, “I guess if people want to start baking cakes with Sagas hidden inside of it, that’s a possibility.”

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