In the middle of a Virginia Gov. game in which Conservatives are furiously pushing for the activation of their base, proposed ban on books in Virginia Beach schools plays a familiar part of political theater: arousing moral panic over public education while fostering racial fears. In fact, the ban on books in schools has become a favorite tactic before elections across the country.
Among the six books challenged in Virginia Beach is Tony Morrison’s novel “The Bluest Eye”; “Gender Queer,” graphic memoirs by Maia Kobaba; “Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out” by Susan Kuklin; “Lawn Boy” by Jonathan Evison; and Ernest J. Gaines’ “Lesson Before Death.” Proponents of the ban describe the books as “disgusting” and “pornographic,” with one parent at a school council meeting last week claiming the books “prepare” young people for sexual predators.
Also included is a book I wrote and illustrated: “Good Trouble: Lessons from the Civil Rights Playbook.” The inclusion of this history of the civil rights movement is both curious and confusing, as it is free of sexuality and swearing, which are two common reasons for banning books in schools.
I could pretend to be shocked and appalled, but the truth is that the controversy helped the “Good Problems”. While my book was removed from three high school libraries during the review, the ban aroused curiosity among readers about the type of institutional oppression and racism described on its pages.
Maybe I shouldn’t be too excited to learn that Evison, the author of “Lawn Boy” – a widely acclaimed novel about adulthood – received threats and was called “pedo” and “sicko” after a video of a mother reading an explicit scene from a book on a Texas school blackboard went viral on TikTok.
According to the school district, the parents had not previously marked any of the six books as controversial. Nonetheless, school board member Victoria Manning and a minority bloc of conservative members on the 11-member board of directors managed to pull six titles out of school libraries pending review.
This process reviews is underway for five titles, in “Gender Queer” has been permanently removed after reviewing the district supervisor and staff, with a spokesman saying the pictures of the book did not fit the section »expectations regarding learning value. ”
“I would like to ask you to remove these books from the shelves and also block students’ electronic access to IMMEDIATELY retrieving these books, ”Manning wrote to school administrators.
“I’m sick of what I just looked at and read.”
As for my book, Manning told Virginian-Pilot that she hadn’t read it and had no concerns with it, but other parents had pointed it out to her. Wanting to understand more about her offense, I contacted her and three other board members by phone and email. No words yet.
The only concrete objection raised so far to the “Good Trouble” relates to the illustration in the introductory chapter of National Policy Institute activists celebrating the Nazi salute celebrating the election of Donald Trump. Separated? Definitely – also actually.
Still, it’s not hard to guess what proponents of the ban find so dangerous in a book on civil rights, titled after Congressman John Lewis ’call to take action against injustice. This is just another cynical effort by the consolidated authorities to exploit the fear of “otherness” to win the election and reverse the fight for racial equality.
“Good Trouble” was written before the current anger over critical race theory, but no doubt its opponents view it as another attempt to transcribe and complicate the usual triumphant narrative “look how far we have come”. This seems dangerous to conservatives like Manning, who appeared on “Fox & Friends” to condemn the teaching of racism and who runs a “vigilance checker” on her personal blog to fight the district’s fair politics.
Last month, the Virginia Beach School Board voted on a similar “capital resolution”This would prevent, among other things, teaching the idea that white people have any responsibility for actions committed in the past by others of their race. This resolution has not been adopted – it could also be a permanent ban on five books that are still under review. District officials say they expect a final decision on the books by mid-December. Nevertheless, supporters of the ban have succeeded in their real goal: to remove so-called “encouraging” books from the shelves and to encourage fear and outrage in order to strengthen the conservative base.
Make no mistake: banning certain books in schools does not mean protecting children from pornography. When there are permanent bans on works like “Gender Queer,” forces that find books dangerous are expected to invest in books like “Good Trouble,” which embraces the idea that conservatives are likely to be the most angry of all: “Civil Rights Are Not It started with Rosa Parks and didn’t end with the Civil Rights Act. The story of oppression and resistance is as old as the state and as current as today’s news.”
Christopher Noxon is a writer and artist based in Ojai. He illustrated a new book, “Can We Talk About Israel: A Guide for the Curious, Confused, and Conflicted”. @noxonpics