Editorial: Stop the presses! Book ban lifted

Sunday July 21, 2002, 09:40:08 PM

After 63 years, Kern County supervisors have finally changed the county's official stance on a work of literature. John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath" was banned by supervisors in 1939 -- a reaction to the book's politically charged message. Copies of the book were burned and supervisors ordered it removed from library shelves.

After 63 years, the board passed a resolution last week commending Steinbeck and his famous novel. (Do you think it actually took them that long to read the book?)

The resolution was long overdue. Besides being a great work of art, Steinbeck's famous novel is a record of Kern County's past. It is about time we officially honored it.