OPINION

Opinion/Column: Banned books: What schools are prohibited from teaching students

Patricia Yosha

The New Hampshire Legislature has passed a law that includes new curriculum prohibitions applicable to K-12 educational programs. Though an effort has been made by the authors/supporters of the law (HB2) to appear non-discriminatory, educators are not fooled by these efforts.

In essence, public schools, state agencies and state contractors are now effectively banned from providing instruction that frames racism, sexism or ableism as systemic issues that remain endemic in our society. For clarification, see online this document: “Frequently Asked Questions: New discriminatory practice prohibitions applicable to K-12 educational programs.” This explanation is offered by the NH Department of Education, Commission for Human Rights and Department of Justice! The new law smacks of censorship, and threatens freedom of speech protections of the Constitution.

Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries across the country.

Educational themes and goals of addressing racism by examining diversity, equity, inclusion and justice (DEIJ) require training and professional development. They are gaining much-needed support in public schools and colleges. This process includes acknowledging systemic bias and discrimination, however, which frightens many, including some New Hampshire lawmakers. One lawmaker, however, Rep. Manny Espitia of Nashua, has just filed a request for legislation to repeal the state’s “divisive concepts” law.

When reviewing educational prohibitions, check out how some communities are responding to such rulings by looking at Banned Book Week, (September 26-October 3.) Among the top 10 most challenged books of 2020: “Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You” by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds; “Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story About Racial Injustice” by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, and Ann Hazzard; “The Bluest Eye” by Nobel author Toni Morrison, and “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas who spoke in Exeter in 2017. 

Complaints about these books include denial that racial groups in our country are unequal, that reported police brutality promotes anti-police views, that racism against all people is not the focus, that divisive topics are too sensitive for students.

There are other books in the top 10, but what these four have in common is the topic of race relations. Coming to terms with systemic racism is difficult! It makes us uncomfortable, sometimes guilty. Each day when I pick up my newspaper, I learn something new – often wonderful, sometimes horrible – about a person of color who, five or six years ago, would have been ignored by reporters, unknown by our society. And on television and in library books I’ve been reading, I regularly encounter historical facts that were never part of my school or university education! Why were they missing?

I shiver sometimes when I read about these lives, just as I feel uncomfortable about some of the facts and episodes in the banned books cited above. They are part of the world in which I live. To live responsibly, I need to know them. So do our students! So do our legislators.

Putting limits – and then watchdogs – on what may be taught in our schools, puts limits on our ability to increase understanding and reduce bias in our communities, to confront systemic practices. These goals are the framework of enlightened school curricula and policies, which aim to address the power of diversity, equity, inclusion and justice in order to build a better America. Rather than banning books and passing laws that prohibit exploring the ugliness as well as the beauty of our human history, we need to be supporting our teachers, diversity directors, and school administrators who are preparing our children to face a changing world of many races – wherever we go! We need to elect legislators and governors with open minds!

Patricia Yosha of Exeter is a member of the Racial Unity Team.