Book banning: The latest battleground in Virginia Beach schools — and beyond
Virginia Beach has joined school boards in at least four other states in the debate over what books should be allowed in school libraries.
Amid the outcry against teaching critical race theory, Virginia Beach is one of the latest divisions to join the debate over which books students should have access to in school libraries. School board members challenged six books earlier this month, citing what they called sexually explicit and divisive language.
This kind of argument isn’t new — those who track the debates over books say they first happened decades ago. But in some recent cases, challenges seemingly focus on literature highlighting experiences among people from marginalized communities.
Virginia Beach parents caught wind of books in district libraries through social media posts and news reports, which led school board members Victoria Manning and Laura Hughes to demand the books be pulled from the school system’s libraries and curriculum.
Each challenge in Virginia Beach lies within a sliver of the books’ pages — critics of the books call that more than enough to worry about; others say that approach, doesn’t take into account their educational value as a whole.
Manning listed issues with “Lawn Boy” by Jonathan Evison, “Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe, “A Lesson Before Dying” by Ernest Gaines and “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison in an Oct. 5 email to Superintendent Aaron Spence. On Tuesday, she told The Virginian-Pilot she read “Gender Queer” in its entirety, and because of limited time, part of “The Bluest Eye” and “Lawn Boy.”
She also notified the division’s chief of staff that parents brought additional books to her attention — “Beyond Magenta” by Susan Kuklin and “Good Trouble” by Christopher Noxon — but Manning told The Pilot that she hadn’t read the books and didn’t have any concerns with the two.
Manning, who’s served on the board for five years, said many parents don’t know their children have access to these books, and “government schools” should not decide what topics students are exposed to.
Gaines’ and Morrison’s books are the only two respectively taught in 11th- and 12th-grade classes. The other four were available to students in school libraries.
Kobabe’s book was banned after a review by Spence and his staff because its images did not meet the division’s “expectations for instructional value,” according to a spokesperson.
“The fact is, GENDER QUEER is an important, timely piece of work that serves as an invaluable resource for not only those that identity as nonbinary or genderqueer, but for people looking to understand what that means. Limiting its availability is short-sighted and reactionary,” James Lucas Jones, publisher of Oni Press Publisher, said in a statement to The Virginian-Pilot.
Five books are still under review and have to go through the district’s processes for challenging materials.
When selecting books and other materials, the school system’s library media specialists take timeliness, critiques, whether the content is appropriate for the targeted audience and the individual school’s collection needs into consideration.
Experts, including Nora Pelizzari, communication director of the National Coalition Against Censorship, say it’s important for schools to house literature such as that being questioned in Virginia Beach.
“It suggests to students that there are some ideas that are too dangerous to even discuss, and that there are some stories that don’t deserve to be told,” Pelizzari said. Additionally, when instructional materials are pulled from the curriculum it forces teachers to find alternatives to continue teaching students, sometimes at the last minute.
Manning outlined instances of “pedophilia,” “molestation” and “masturbation” in her email to Spence earlier this month. Though some of the books include sexual language, Pelizzari said challenges like these often take passages out of context.
Books have been challenged for obscenity for decades, but those with themes about racial and LGBTQ+ experiences are becoming increasingly under fire, according to the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom director Deborah Caldwell-Stone. Five books out the six, excluding “Gender Queer,” are in the organization’s database for challenges dating to 1990.
When asked whether she considered the books’ subject matter before challenging them, Manning said her concerns weren’t with their overall theme and that she supports diverse literature and “culturally responsive practices.”
But the ongoing clash between schools and parents still stands.
Some parents may be shocked when they find out their child is learning about certain topics. However, experts say the issue around book banning is whether an entire student body should be subjected to the opposing views of a group of parents.
Parents reserve the right to have input in their child’s education, Pelizzari said, but not at the expense of limiting another student’s opportunity to learn.
“Books are often where students can discover broader experiences or develop empathy for people who live lives very unlike their own, because this is a safe way to explore the world — through reading,” she said.
The debate over the six challenged books hit the Virginia Beach school board meeting Oct. 12.
Several parents and community members referenced the books in the public comments, objecting to these books being available on shelves in Virginia Beach libraries. A few read passages from challenged texts and showed printouts of scenes depicting sexual acts from Kobabe’s “Gender Queer.”
“I’m not saying, ‘Burn (the books),’” Amy Solares, a Virginia Beach parent, said at the Tuesday meeting. “I’m saying: Get them out of our public school libraries.”
While the debate bled into the board members’ discussions that evening as well, Manning promised this was only the beginning. Members are expected to continue conversations about the books at their Oct. 26 meeting.
Sierra Jenkins, 229-462-8896, sierra.jenkins@virginiamedia.com
Julianna Morano, julianna.morano@virginiamedia.com
