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The New York Times, December 7, 1966

Negro Students Protest Reading 'Huckleberry Finn'

BOSTON, Dec. 6 (AP) - Mark Twain's "Huckleberry Finn" is considered embarrassing by a group of students who have protested against the book's being on the required reading list at the University of Massachusetts.

About 100 students, many of them Negroes, told their professors yesterday that the book gave a distorted image of Negroes. Two Negro girls walked out of a sophomore English class recently when the character Nigger Jim was mentioned.

Chancellor John W. Ryan was not available for comment today.

At the meeting with the professors, Carnell Eaton, a Negro, said, "The book reinforces prejudice, reinforces the belief that all Negroes shuffle, eat watermelon and giggle."

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