Book Bans Are on the Rise, but Students Are Fighting Back
Some students are speaking out at local board of education meetings and in state houses, and some are filing lawsuits.
n February, the Forsyth County Board of Education meeting room was, in one board member's opinion, "a packed house." Members of the Georgia community had gathered to discuss a variety of issues, but the hot topic was the removal of certain books from schools across the school district.
Students and other community members approached the podium to question why the political views of some parents were impacting their education and the reading material presented in their schools. But those parents who told the board they were concerned about the teachings in these books drew thunderous applause.
It was just the latest in a string of contentious board meetings on the topic over the past year, resulting in some adults possibly going too far. Shivi Mehta, who will be a sophomore at the Alliance Academy for Innovation in the fall, has attended multiple board of education meetings in the past year and said some adults have made her feel uncomfortable at these sessions.
"Concerned parents started coming up and hassling people like, 'Why are you pro-socialism?'" Mehta said, remembering her experience in the parking lot outside of the first board meeting she attended in June 2021. "People with iPads came up and took pictures of us… I remember being kinda freaked out by it."
"I always knew there was stuff here, but it was really eye-opening to see it in person," James Liming, who will be a senior at Denmark High School in the fall, said about that June meeting.
Mehta said the behavior from some of the adults outside these board meetings was alarming enough that a police officer gave the students his card and offered his assistance in case they ever felt harassed.
"It's sad that he actually had to come over and say that to us because these are adults."
This treatment is illustrative of fights in local school boards across the country, where parents -- many of whom were already motivated to take action by the mask policies of the last two years -- and other community members are fighting what they believe is inappropriate content for children. While some people are speaking out against diversity, equity and inclusion groups in schools, others are seeking to override educators in removing books, many of which deal with topics like racism, gender identity or sexual orientation. Students, meanwhile, are taking action and making their voices heard, even if some adults aren't listening. This issue has raged since last summer, with critics rallying against the idea of critical race theory. It's an academic concept that looks at the role that systemic racism plays in today's society, although it isn't taught in K-12 classrooms. Regardless, government officials in some states have reacted by calling for the removal of certain books from schools. Some school districts, not wanting to draw any attention, have quietly acquiesced.
Georgia passed Senate Bill 226 in April, making it one of the latest states to allow for the removal of "obscene material" from public schools. Other states, like Florida, Tennessee and Utah, have passed similar laws.
The Georgia bill bypasses the previous process, in which trained professionals would review books. It also requires principals to review all complaints by parents on books within seven days and decide on whether or not to remove a challenged book in three days.
But the debate is having a different impact on students. Mehta's and Liming's experiences at education board meetings over the last year drove them to become more involved with Students for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, a group started last year to help promote the diversity, equity and inclusion policy in Georgia's Forsyth County School District.
"As a brown, female person, this is something that affects me," Mehta said.
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Historical roots of book bans
The recent push to challenge books isn't new, and America's history with bans actually stretches back to the colonies. When William Pynchon, a colonist and founder of Springfield, Massachusetts, was accused of heresy by the Massachusetts Bay Colony, his critique of puritanical Calvinism, called The Meritorious Price of Our Redemption, was burned on the Boston Common. The pamphlet is considered the first book to be banned and burned in the New World.
The Comstock Act of 1873 made it a criminal offense to sell, own or give away a book that contained obscenity. In the 1930s and '40s, textbooks written by Harold Rugg faced criticism for being perceived as "communistic" and "anti-American." The American Library Association said the Harry Potter series topped the list of most challenged books in the US in the 2000s for discussing witchcraft and magic.
2022-06-21 20:09:12
