Sadly, censorship attempts are continuing to roll in, but many situations that are taking place in our state have been ongoing. It appears to start with one person, or a small group of people, bringing forth a concern over one or two titles that quickly seems to grow into a much larger book censoring attack.
We have seen this principle in our previous posts about AMY Regional, Fontana Regional, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. The same also holds true for our topic today as we head to the Low Country.
Out on the coast of North Carolina are many small towns and scenic vistas. There have been many books, films, and television shows that have capitalized on these areas for set pieces and it is completely understandable as they are truly breath-taking. However, they, like so many other towns, cities, and counties in North Carolina, are fighting political battles around the censoring of materials.
New Hanover County is one of the smallest counties in our state. It covers Wilmington and several smaller towns and communities. Though the county is small, Wilmington is the 8th largest city by population in the state. This may account for the political leanings, as the county is fairly evenly divided Republican and Democrat.
Though these posts focus on the state of libraries and what we are fighting for, it is imperative to make note of issues that include education as a whole to foresee problems that may arise from decisions being made politically.
This is true for the progression we can see in the New Hanover County Schools and their board.
The first true instance of concern came in April 2023 when a school board member proposed the idea of having a “book review committee” for the school libraries. This committee as proposed would include one school librarian who would not be able to vote, a teacher, a board member, and seven parents. Only books that they deemed “age appropriate” would be allowed in the libraries (Prensky, 2023).
Thankfully, this idea was not taken well by most of the board members as the plan itself was not well thought out, or presented, and objections to the plan quickly highlighted this fact.
What is concerning is that we can see a trend nationally where the word of educated and trained individuals is no longer enough. The proposed committee would have been made up of random parents from the schools (they would only serve for a semester at a time) who would have had voting power on what books to include in school libraries. Yet, they would only include one school librarian, a person with higher education and training on the very subject of appropriate books, and that person would have no say or voting power.
Ironically, up to that point, there had been very few attempts at censoring materials. The book review committee was proposed because a board member had purportedly read some of the books in the school libraries and thought they were age inappropriate. So the question would be, if complaints are not being made, why would this be an issue?
Meanwhile…
Starting in December 2022, the teacher for an AP Language and Composition course was made aware of a parent’s concerns over book choices in her classroom. The teacher, Kelli Kidwell, had selected numerous titles for her course including the book Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds. It was adapted from the original work by Ibram X. Kendi.
The parent, Katie Gates, said she was going to contact Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson to complain about the “biased teaching” of Ms. Kidwell.
Ms. Gates later took her complaints to the school board when school administration would not remove the book from the classroom.
The school board met in July 2023 to discuss banning the book from classrooms and school libraries. The board heard from a few parents and educators about the book, but later decided to have a meeting that allowed more parents to share their opinions (Bouchelle, 2023).
It seems that the majority were in favor of not banning the book and supported the teacher’s decision to include it. Many questioned why there were issues with it since the course in question was encouraging students to read varying viewpoints and draw their own conclusions (Bouchelle, 2023).
The questioning of this book and the potential banning sparked concerns from advocacy groups in the area and across the state. The President of the NC chapter of the NAACP spoke out against the potential ban (photo from Keith, 2023) and even the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) wrote a letter to the board, urging them to not ban the book and citing general statutes that prohibited banning the book (NCAC News).
The real meat of the situation occurred on September 1, 2023 at a school board meeting where Ms. Gates and Ms. Kidwell both shared their opinions and perspectives. Even though her child was no longer taking the course in question, and even though Ms. Kidwell had allowed her student to use an alternative book in the assignment for the course, Ms. Gates still wanted the book removed. She did say it didn’t have to be removed from the school libraries (Keith, 2023).
Ms. Gates stated her reasons for wanting the book removed were due to its anti-American sentiments and because it “disrespected the Bible.” She later said that it “would make white kids feel bad” (Keith, 2023). Her claims escalated into saying she felt Ms. Kidwell was biased and used her classes and materials to push an agenda.
Ms. Kidwell, and others, argued the book was chosen due to its importance, relevance, and the author’s voice resonated with teens in her classes. The argument was also made that because the course was meant to have students analyze and critique differing viewpoints, the book was a great addition to the curriculum (Keith, 2023).
I will add as an aside here that the article used for this portion of our blog post is an interesting read and goes into much more depth and detail as to what language was used in the meeting and the reactions from the people attending, as well as the community at large. It is well worth a read.
All the debate and meetings culminated in the book being removed from the school’s curriculum in a 4-3 vote by the school board. The book was also “temporarily” removed from the school libraries, but one of the board members who voted against the ban spoke out and said it would end up being permanent (Keith, 2023).
I stated earlier that even books being removed from the curriculum due to a parents complaint should be a concern. This is another example of one parent, or even a small group of parents, believing they have the right to limit what other people’s children have access to because of their own opinions and beliefs. At the end of the Keith article is a quote from Ms. Gates that I found to be particularly interesting:
‘I don’t consider it a win for me. I’m not doing this for Katie Gates; I’m doing this for the students. I’m doing this for the community. I’m doing it because I want our students to grow up having pride in the country that we live in, to experience the freedoms that we experience in America, and to be grateful for it,’ Gates said. (Keith, 2023).
There are two things that strike me about this quote.
First, she says it isn’t a win for her, but for the students. What students is she referencing? These are high school students taking a college level course. Old enough to make their own decisions on what they wish to read. I would venture to say, though this is conjecture on my part, that she wasn’t thinking of what the students wanted or needed, but her own opinions.
And second, that she wants students to be grateful to live in a country where we experience freedom. While simultaneously taking those freedoms away by limiting their access to materials they might not be able to access otherwise. By limiting their access to ideas and opinions so that they can form their own.
We are all well aware by this point that the idea of “age appropriateness” (something listed as a reason for the ban) is not the actual concern. We are also aware the majority of books garnering these “concerns” are about marginalized communities or controversial topics. In the previous blog posts alone we discussed LGBTQIA+ books or topics that were banned because of their content. In this case, the book is about people of color.
Instances such as this are examples of what happens when one person’s viewpoints are seen as more important, or louder, than another’s. And these usually lead to more instances since they were so successful the first time.
And indeed, it wasn’t long before another controversial move came from the New Hanover School Board when they brought forth the topic of stopping Battle of the Books at a May 2024 meeting. One board member expressed concerns that the book selections for BoB were not “age appropriate” and that the school system should create their own version (Baldwin, 2024, May 31).
The board member was woefully uninformed about the selection process and seemed to be under the impression that anyone could make selections. The North Carolina School Library Media Association (NCSLMA) chooses the books on the list and their membership is open to anyone in the education field. Another board member, Pat Bradford, took this to mean that anyone could join and choose the books for the list (Baldwin, 2024, May 31).
Obviously, this is not true. Each book goes through an intensive vetting process before being added to the list. Many spoke out in support of BoB, with no opposition being presented at board meetings. In fact, students of the school district created a petition to keep Battle of the Books as it is (Baldwin, 2024, June 7).
Despite the win for the one parent who brought forth a concern, it seems that New Hanover County, at least the school system, doesn’t have many who think along the lines of book censoring. This is a good thing for us as library workers, and yet the fact that one parent was able to raise concerns, have many in the area oppose it, and still have a book removed is troubling.
We, as library workers, support the Freedom to Read. We support our patrons who want access to materials that they can then choose to read or not read. It is more than a little disheartening when something like this, or any of our other stories, happens.
The first thing to remember is that your patrons, in many cases, are just as concerned as you are. More so, because they are worried about how they will access things once they are removed. We will continue to do as we always have, which is to assist them in whatever way we can.
If you are working in a school library that has banned a book from your shelves, but a child wants to read it, let him or her know that the local library might have it. If you are working at a public library from which a book was banned, do you have access to Inter-library Loan services, Resource Sharing through NC Cardinal, or does your local school library have a copy? Can it be found through an online platform?
The current political climate has many of us fearful, and our patrons are no different. However, they will look to libraries as a source of comfort, shelter, and hope. We can continue to do our level best to assist them in finding resources, accessing materials, and providing programming. We can continue to be a safe space for our communities.
Remember, as always, that you are not alone and that there is a network of librarians and library workers who are with you. Whatever feelings or thoughts you have on where we are as a country, know that we stand with you and are here to support you in whatever ways we can.
Reach out to us through our website and let us know what we can do. And if you haven’t heard it today, thank you for all you do for your community!
Resources:
Baldwin, Jalyn. (2024, May 31). “Books take center stage again at NHC school board meeting, this time over selections in statewide competition”. Port City Daily. https://portcitydaily.com/local-news/2024/05/31/books-take-center-stage-again-at-nhc-school-board-meeting-this-time-over-selections-in-statewide-competition/
Baldwin, Jalyn. (2024, June 7). “Battle of the Books backlash: NHCS students and parents defend program, petition started”. Port City Daily. https://portcitydaily.com/local-news/2024/06/07/battle-of-the-books-backlash-nhcs-students-and-parents-defend-program-petition-started/
Bouchelle, Sydney. (2023, August 1). “Dozens speak on banning books during New Hanover County School Board meeting”. WWAY News. https://www.wwaytv3.com/dozens-speak-on-banning-books-during-new-hanover-county-school-board-meeting/
Crooms, Reyna and WECT News Staff. (2023, September 1). “New Hanover County School Board votes to temporarily ban Stamped from curriculum”. WECT News. https://www.wect.com/2023/09/01/new-hanover-county-school-board-votes-temporarily-ban-stamped-curriculum/
Keith, Rachel. (2023, September 8). “Unpacking the removal of ‘Stamped’ by the New Hanover County Board of Education”. WUNC. https://www.wunc.org/2023-09-08/unpacking-the-removal-of-stamped-by-the-new-hanover-county-board-of-education
National Coalition Against Censorship. (2023, July 26). “NCAC urges New Hanover County, North Carolina, school board to reject challenge against “Stamped”. NCAC.
Prensky, Matthew. (2023, April 6). “School board member ‘disturbed’ by books in school libraries, calls for review committee”. Wilmington Star News. https://www.starnewsonline.com/story/news/local/2023/04/06/new-hanover-school-leaders-wade-into-national-book-banning-controversy/70059180007/