Madison County Schools places 10 books in restricted circulation

The Madison County College Board voted to put ten books in restricted circulation at their assembly Monday. 

The district initially positioned the books in restricted circulation in April, that means college students should have parental permission to take a look at the ebook, after mother and father voiced their concern in school board conferences and on social media. 

A crew of educators reviewed the books for “mature content material” and beneficial that the district return the books to circulation in 3 ways: full circulation for grades 6-12, full circulation for grades 9-12, and books that can require parental consent to be checked out in grades 9-12. Full circulation means anybody can try a ebook.

Books in full circulation for grades 6-12 are:

• “Piecing Me Collectively” by Renee Watson
• “The Advantages of Being an Octopus” by Ann Braden
• “Touching Spirit Bear” by Ben Mikaelsen
• “Uglies” by Scott Westerfeld

Books in full circulation for grades 9-12 are:

• “All American Boys” by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
• “Black Good friend: On Being a Higher White Individual” by Frederick Joseph
• “Pricey Martin” by Nic Stone
• “Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini
• “Love, Hate, and Different Filters” by Samira Ahmed
• “Discovering Wes Moore” by Wes Moore
• “Converse” by Laurie Halse Anderson

Books in restricted circulation for grades 9-12 are: 

• “Completely True Diary of a Half-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie
• “American Born Chinese language” by Gene Luen Yang
• “Beloved” by Toni Morrison
• “Eleanor and Park” by Rainbow Rowell
• “I Am Not Your Excellent Mexican Daughter” by Erika Sánchez
• “Let Me Hear a Rhyme” by Tiffany D. Jackson
• “Out of Darkness” by Ashley Hope Pérez
• “Queer, There, & In every single place” by Sarah Prager
• “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison
• “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas

“Monday’s Not Coming” by Tiffany D. Jackson, initially on the listing of books in restricted circulation, was not addressed on the assembly. 

Mississippi native and writer Angie Thomas, whose ebook “The Hate U Give” was on the listing of books positioned in restricted circulation, responded on Twitter in April, saying “The county I as soon as referred to as dwelling. I couldn’t depart Mississippi quick sufficient. My coronary heart goes out to the Black and LGBTQIA youngsters in Madison county who aren’t being allowed to learn books that present their experiences.”

Nationally, ebook bannings have been on the rise during the last yr, hitting a file excessive because the American Library Affiliation began monitoring the challenges 20 years in the past. The affiliation additionally stated that almost all of challenged books have been by or about Black or LGBT people.

Mississippi libraries have additionally seen pushback over supplies in Ridgeland and Biloxi, although no library supplies have been faraway from the cabinets but. 

Lindsey Beckham, a mother or father who spoke in opposition to the books at one of many college board conferences and the chair of the Madison chapter of Mothers for Liberty, a nationwide conservative nonprofit that advocates for parental rights in faculties, beforehand informed Mississippi Right this moment that she first got interested within the library content material as a part of her issues relating to important race idea.

Essential race idea was a focus in the course of the legislative session this spring, with legislators passing an anti-CRT invoice over the objections of ever Black lawmaker. The Mississippi Division of Training has beforehand stated that the speculation isn’t current in any Okay-12 curriculum, however it’s generally present in increased schooling settings. 

READ MORE: Inside Mississippi’s solely class on important race idea

Beckham, who was in attendance at Monday’s assembly, stated she was involved about how a number of the books had been sorted. 

“‘The Hate U Give’ is gentle in comparison with a number of the ones which might be in full circulation,” Beckham stated. “In fact, I don’t need any of the 22 books in full circulation. I don’t wish to ban or burn a ebook, however these books can be found at our public libraries, on Amazon, or at a ebook retailer — they’re not applicable for kids.”