ACLU sues Missouri School District for Permanent Removal of Eight Books

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit against Missouri School District Wentzville on behalf of two minor students over the removal of books from school libraries, reported CNN. The books, as expected, were on topics of race and sexual identity.

The Wentzville school board had reportedly voted to permanently remove eight books including The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison and Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewell. American Library Association executive director Tracie Hall told CNN that banning books can influence a child’s development in relation to real world challenges.

From CNN:

“The banned books engage their readers with a diversity of ideas and minority viewpoints, including with respect to race, gender, and sexual identity,” the ACLU argues in the class action lawsuit.

“The District banned the books from school libraries because of the ideological disagreement members of the District’s school board and certain vocal community members have with the ideas and viewpoints that the books express.”

The head of integrated advocacy at the ACLU, Tony Rothert, furthered the argument of the complaint insisting the new school district policies have made it easy for any angry parent to force a book to be pulled from the shelves. “This plays right into the hands of those with an agenda to rid our public schools of viewpoints belonging to anyone other than straight, white men,” said Rothert in a statement via CNN.

One school board member, Sandy Garber, had defended her vote against The Bluest Eye by claiming she was protecting children from obscenities such as pedophilia, incest and rape, reported CNN. According to the American Library Association, Morrison’s novel was in the top ten list of most banned books in 2020.

This pushback on books (especially critical race theory) surely misinterprets why some people want these books in schools. Obviously, a second grader shouldn’t be reading Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon. However, the book should still be accessible when that student is of age to understand what they’re reading.

If not, there’s always Barnes & Noble. What’s your favorite book featuring race or sexuality?