''The Rabbits' Wedding'' is a

children's A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

picture book A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The images ...

created and illustrated by American author and illustrator

Garth Williams Garth Montgomery Williams (April 16, 1912 – May 8, 1996) was an American artist who came to prominence in the American Post-war, postwar era as an illustrator of children's books. Many of the books he illustrated have become classics of Americ ...

, who came to the fore as a writer after his success as an illustrator with ''

Stuart Little ''Stuart Little'' is a 1945 American children's novel by E. B. White. It was White's first children's book, and it is now widely recognized as a classic in children's literature. ''Stuart Little'' was illustrated by the subsequently award-winnin ...

''. ''The Rabbits' Wedding'' was published on April 30, 1958, and depicted the love affair and wedding of two bunnies, one white and one black. The following year it became the center of a controversy in the state of Alabama when Edward Oswell Eddins,

State Senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

from

Marengo County Marengo County is a county located in the west central portion of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,323. The largest city is Demopolis, and the county seat is Linden. It is named in honor of the Battle of ...

, claimed the book was "propaganda for

integration Integration may refer to: Biology *Multisensory integration *Path integration * Pre-integration complex, viral genetic material used to insert a viral genome into a host genome *DNA integration, by means of site-specific recombinase technology, ...

and intermarriage". Alabama's State Library Agency director,

Emily Wheelock Reed Emily Wheelock Reed (1910 – May 19, 2000) was an American librarian and civil rights activist. Reed is best known for her work as director of the Alabama Public Library Service Division in Alabama during the civil rights movement, at which time ...

, faced

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

challenges over the book at the height of the

Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...

in the

American South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

. Williams illustrated more than 70 books, the majority by other authors; ''The Rabbits' Wedding'' was the last of those he wrote. , according to the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', it remained in print.

Plot summary

The rabbits live in the forest, where they go on journeys. The black rabbit (male) feels conflicted; finally he reveals why he has been depressed and thoughtful, conveying to the white rabbit (female) that he wishes she will stay by his side forever. The white rabbit accepts the black rabbit's wish and love. A wedding is celebrated and the bunnies dance under the moonlight with the other creatures of the forest.

Censorship

The

White Citizens Council The Citizens' Councils (commonly referred to as the White Citizens' Councils) were an associated network of white supremacist, segregationist organizations in the United States, concentrated in the South and created as part of a white backlash ...

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...

, attacked the book, claiming that it promoted

interracial marriage Interracial marriage is a marriage involving spouses who belong to different races or racialized ethnicities. In the past, such marriages were outlawed in the United States, Nazi Germany and apartheid-era South Africa as miscegenation. In 19 ...

in defiance of the laws against miscegenation. Against such attacks, the book found an advocate in

, director of the Alabama Public Library Service Division, whose job it was to provide libraries throughout the state with the books they requested. Representative E. O. Eddins of

Marengo County, Alabama Marengo County is a County (United States), county located in the west central portion of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 19,323. The largest city is Demopolis, Alabama, Demopolis, ...

, together with the White Citizen's Council, led the battle against Williams' book, and suggested Reed "put stock in racial incorporation": "This book and many others should be taken off the shelves and burned". As a result, the library system banned the book from all libraries in Alabama. Reed (who said she enjoyed the book) complied to the extent that she moved it away from general circulation and instead put it on reserve, available upon request; this made the book still accessible to local librarians and thus was not a ban of the book: "We have had difficulty with the book, but we have not lost our integrity". Before the year was over segregationists again found fault with Reed, who distributed a reading list that included various controversial titles including

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

's book ''

Stride Toward Freedom ''Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story'' (published 1958) is Martin Luther King Jr.'s historic account of the 1955–1956 Montgomery bus boycott. The book describes the conditions of African Americans living in Alabama during the era, and ...

''. During an interview with ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' in 1959, Williams said, " 'The Rabbits' Wedding''was not written for adults who will not understand it, because it is only about a soft, furry love and has no hidden messages of hate." Williams denied that his story, intended for children ages 3 to 7, was a purposeful anecdote of racial integration. "I was completely unaware that animals with white furs, such as white polar bears and white dogs and white rabbits, were considered blood relations of white human beings," Williams commented. Williams further explained to ''The New York Times'': "I was only aware that a white horse next to a black horse looks very picturesque—and my rabbits were inspired by early Chinese paintings of black and white horses in misty landscapes." A

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

about the censorship controversy, titled ''Alabama Story'', was written by Kenneth Jones and first staged in 2015. Jones said he was inspired by Reed's

obituary An obituary ( obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Ac ...

in ''

''.

References

External links

"Fuss over Integrated Black Bunny," ''LIFE'' (magazine), June 1, 1959.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rabbits' Wedding, The 1958 children's books American picture books Children's fiction books Fantasy books English-language books Fictional married couples Children's books about rabbits and hares Fiction about talking animals Works about weddings Children's books set in forests HarperCollins books Marriage in Alabama

Plot summary

Censorship

See also

References

External links