WSD Bans Book, Deeming The Selection Inappropriate Meet Your 2022 Board Of Education

‘The Bluest Eye’ was briefly removed from all libraries within the district

by Sruthi Ramesh, Editor-In-Chief of LHStoday

The Wentzville School District’s Board of Education historically voted to remove all copies (physical and digital) of “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison from libraries on Jan. 20. It is important to note that this book, published in 1970, was not required by any curriculum used within the district, and the title is only mentioned as a supplementary reading for students for one particular course taught exclusively in high schools. “The Bluest Eye” was formally challenged by a community member on Sept. 30, citing themes of pedophilia, incest, and rape. The book is one of eight that have been challenged during the 2021-2022 school year. At the January Board of Education meeting, Director Shannon Stolle originally made a motion that night, to “move ‘The Bluest Eye’ by Toni Morrisson to the restricted list for AP classes only with parent opt-in requirement.” This would have removed the book from all Wentzville libraries and only allow for the book to be read upon a parent’s explicit approval. In a roll call vote, the motion failed, 4-3. After more discussion, Secretary Dale Schaper made a second motion to simply “not to retain the book.” This motion passed 4-3. Many who came to watch the meeting the night of Jan. 20 were expecting to see a discussion about COVID-19, but stayed to witness the district’s first-ever ban on a book. But as indicated by how long it has been since the title was challenged and other national headlines regarding the barring of select titles from public school libraries, this issue has been simmering under the surface for a while. According to the book’s summary, “‘The Bluest Eye’ is the story of 11-year-old Pecola Breedlove— a black girl in an America whose love for its blond, blue-eyed children can devastate all others—who prays for her eyes to turn blue: so that she will be beautiful, so that people will look at her, so that her world will be different. This is the story of the nightmare at the heart of her yearning and the tragedy of its fulfillment.” The debut novel by Nobel-Prize winning author Toni Morrison has been continually included in the American Library Association’s list of most challenged books. As of 2020, “The Bluest Eye” ranks No. 9 on the list, citing reasons such as “sexually explicit” and “depicts child sexual abuse.”

HoWDoESABook gET rEmovED?: Wentzville community member Amber Crawford filed a formal challenge against “The Bluest Eye” on Sept. 30, 2021. As soon as a formal challenge is submitted, the book in question is removed from circulation in both physical and digital form. In the Wentzville School District, the only buildings that had physical copies of “The Bluest Eye” were Holt High School, Timberland High School, and North Point High School. According to the Assistant Superintendent of Teaching & Learning Dr. Keri Skeeters, community members must follow a formal process to challenge any type of media. “There is a form that the community member completes, which asks them to provide several pieces of information— what they object to, what level they object it for (grade level, course requirements), and then they submit that to the superintendent,” Skeeters said. Once the board receives the formal challenge, the book is removed from libraries, classrooms, and ebook circulation. Within 15 days of receiving the challenge, a committee made up of nine people is then formed to read the book. During a 20-day process of the review process beginning, “the committee shall meet, review the written request for reconsideration, read the questioned materials, evaluate, and prepare a written report of its findings and recommendations to the Superintendent of Schools.” (Regulation 6241, BoardDocs) The committee formed to review “The Bluest Eye” voted to retain the book on Jan. 13. The final verdict was made up of six votes to retain the book, two votes to retain with restriction, and one vote to not retain. The committee’s report cited reasons such as that “students are not assigned this book, but rather it is a choice that is one of thousands of books in the library,” and that “as part of an AP choice reading list, it is important for the library to retain this book so students can have access.” “In my time in the curriculum department for about 15 years, we have not had a book removed from the library or from classrooms,” Dr. Skeeters said.

CommUNiTYopiNioN: The removal of the book caused mixed reactions among teachers, students, and community members.

Many community members felt uncomfortable with the principle of the Board of Education having the power to ban books based on what they deemed “appropriate.” Wentzville is not alone in facing a surge in challenged material — this is occurring in districts all across the country. AP Literature & Composition teacher Mrs. Tarrant-Oliphant understands parents’ concerns about the sensitive topics covered in the selection, but feels as though books like “The Bluest Eye” are important for young adults (high school students) to have access to and experience. “There are difficult and uncomfortable topics that come up in this text, but difficult and uncomfortable topics come across our doorways all the time,” explained TarrantOliphant. “Insulating people from education is, quite frankly, the first step of oppression. Taking literature and books away is what happens when you want people to stop thinking for themselves. It’s not right.” 8 BookS CHALLENgED BY WENTzviLLE SCHooL DiSTriCT CoNSTiTUENTS: As referenced in the College Board’s AP Central, “The Bluest Eye” has previously been used as a supplementary text by teachers of “AP Literature & Composition.” Currently, Liberty High School’s Lawn Boy, Jonathan Evison teacher of this course, Mrs. Tarrant-Oliphant, does not include this book as a part of her curriculum. Heavy: An American Memoir, Kiese Laymon On the other hand, many who support the removal of this book are relieved that this title All Boys Aren’t Blue, George M. Johnson Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, Alison Bechdel is not available to students anymore. Crawford spoke at the October 2021 board meeting and urged Superintendent Dr. Cain to remove the book Gabi, a Girl in Pieces, Isabel Quintero permanently after she had not heard back from the challenge committee. Modern Romance, Aziz Ansari Invisible Girl, Lisa Jewell “This is in no way appropriate (for) a school library,” Crawford said during the public forum portion of the meeting. The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison Community members who were against “The Bluest Eye” being in libraries continued to speak at board meetings, leading up to the January 2022 meeting where the fateful decision was made. Vanessa Hagedorn expressed her frustrations toward the board at the November meeting, saying “Why, why, why are us parents, who just want to protect our children, jumping through hoops to get this trash removed?” Even Timberland student Robert Warren came to declare his stance on the challenged material and spoke at the December public forum. “After I read some of these books, I was grossed out and it made me uncomfortable,” Warren said. BEYoND WENTzviLLE: The banning of “The Bluest Eye” garnered attention outside of the district, resulting in multiple articles from local and national publications. The Intellectual Freedom Committee of the Missouri Libraries Association sent a letter to the board and Superintendent Dr. Cain on Jan. 28 about their decision, encouraging the Board to reexamine their decision. They went on to express a major underlying issue that seems to plague the multiple challenged materials across the nation: the books contain perspectives of those who belong to marginalized groups— mainly BIPOC and queer communities. The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against the Wentzville School District on Feb. 15, in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, on behalf of two Wentzville School District students. The class-action lawsuit was filed “to stop the removal of books that are by and about communities of color, LGBTQ people and other marginalized groups.” Book iSrEiNSTATED: The Wentzville School District Board of Education held a special meeting on Feb. 25 to “revisit the decision to not retain the book The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison.” The board voted to rescind the decision they made on Jan. 20 (which was to “not retain the book”) and then passed a motion to return the book back to Wentzville high school libraries. Both motions passed 5-1, with Director Dale Schaper abstaining from both votes. In response to the book being reinstated in libraries, the ACLU released a statement shortly after the school board meeting. “This is welcome news, but the fact remains that six books are still banned,” stated Anthony Rothert, Director of Integrated Advocacy of ACLU of Missouri. “…Wentzville’s policies still make it easy for any community member to force any book from the shelves even when they shamelessly target books by and about communities of color, LGBTQ people and other marginalized groups.” The Wentzville School District is aware of the lawsuit but has declined to comment on the matter. It is unclear whether the BOE was inclined to schedule the special board meeting because of the filed lawsuit.