BY ERIC TODD SCOTT SR.
The “book-banning mommas” in our community and elsewhere are consciously ignorant in their thinking. They say they are Christians, but remind me of Hitler’s Nazi regime, which burned and banned books. Ultra-white nationalism and antisemitism are evident in the actions of this organization. This group has used the press and propaganda in a nationwide action targeting what it calls vulgarity and pornography in books. They believe they are participating in a cleansing to purify books in school libraries. We know this right-wing propaganda is a pre-staging of state censorship and control of culture.
Authors on the banned book blacklists use “real words” to describe the experiences and the struggles of the disabled and the LBGTQ community as well as the quest for civil rights and Black history. These authors share stories about efforts to improve conditions for industrial workers, to secure the right to vote for women, and help our citizens understand, become enlightened, find answers and cope with life’s struggles. A story is a story, a book is a book, and authors have freedom of speech. People in this country have the freedom to choose what they read.
The trickery of these groups is not going unnoticed. They talk about ridding our school libraries of books that contain vulgar language; yet they don’t even pay attention to how few of these books even get checked out. Many of the book banners have not even read these books in their entirety. They just highlight sections that offend them and label them as vulgar and pornographic. Then these groups turn around and post these passages for parents and tell a one-sided truth. Who is really promoting pornography here?
In one breath, the Iredell-Statesville Schools Board of Education vice chair quotes Baruti Kafele as saying, “The best way to hide something from Black people is to put it in a book.” Then he promotes banning books. Does this make sense? It does if your true intentions are to take books away from our most vulnerable populations.
These groups say parents should make choices about what their children read. That’s a great idea. It would be nice if all children had parents dedicated to reading with their child and talking with their child about what they read. But we live in a nation where this is not the norm. Banning books is not the way. This organized effort to ban books in school libraries is a threat to our nation’s freedoms.
These double-tongued serpents want to rid the world of books that they deem vulgar in a world where anyone can turn on the TV, watch Hulu, Netflix, HBO, or Cinemax, or get on a phone and seek whatever they wish to read or watch, including actual pornography. Where is their nationwide effort to rid the world of everything offensive on social media? Is that next?
There are also efforts to rid libraries of the work of Black writers who speak their truth about the struggle for Civil Rights and Black history. These groups want to paint a lily-white picture of our nation’s past. They want to ban books about the heinous and inhumane treatment of Black Americans. They claim teachers are disseminating pornographic material and promoting LBGTQ in schools. They want to review every resource and every lesson plan because they are fearful that their children might learn the “real” truth about the world.
These groups are the very reason we can’t keep teachers in our schools. They are the reason no one wants to teach. We are over it. We will continue to teach about the wrongdoings in our nation’s history, show people the trickery and sneaky ways these groups seek to keep those who are different and less fortunate down. Go ahead and continue to think that your way, your culture, your misguided interpretation of Christian beliefs, and your character are the moral and true character, and that it’s all based on what they call God’s teachings. Reasonable people know better.
Here’s some truth: These groups are not trying to ban any books written by KKK leaders, Neo-Nazi leaders, Skinheads and other hate groups. Where is the list of these books? They include heinous, vulgar, discriminatory, hurtful lies. These groups say they don’t want their children reading or having to learn about the wrongdoings of the past, that this is detrimental to their health and emotional stability. Wake up! What about the children who are being denied the opportunity to learn the true history of their ancestors’ past, and being kept from knowing how their people influenced the world and made inventions and didn’t get the recognition. What about all the hate groups who claim their “race is the superior race!” When will these groups address these books and these people?
Some of these people claim they ran for public offices to help people. Once they are in office, all they do is push their own partisan ideology. This cannot continue.
How do these people sleep at night? Do you think Jesus would approve of this hatefulness and divisiveness? God is love and reaches people, especially the lowly, unfortunate, the sinful, humbly through love and compassion. He is the only judge. He is the one with the fire and brimstone. Stop the madness!
Eric Todd Scott Sr. is president of the Statesville Branch NAACP.
Mr. Scott,
Please explain how sexually obscene-containing literature like The Bluest Eye benefits young children, whether they are black or white. You present a false argument claiming that “mommas” want to ban books. The books in question are available outside the school libraries from bookstores, Amazon, Kindle, and even the public libraries. Furthermore, efforts to remove obscene books from schools has nothing to do with racism, even if a few authors happen to be black. You would more persuasively present your arguments and opinions if you would refrain from calling people Nazis.
If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck….
Please do not tell me what my child can or cannot read. Leave the books alone.
“Banning” a book means it is no longer in circulation. The effort to make books “age appropriate” is the same as the way movies use “guidance” ratings of G, PG etc.
The argument that they can see it anywhere is moot. The school ecosystem is designed to show the way.
As for teaching racial history… Critical Race Theory is a spin off of Marx’ Critical Theory and excludes facts. Facts such as the racist history of the Democrat Party.
Stop the rhetoric please.
Good points.
Mr. Scott’s suggestion that teaching racial history using fictional novels written by black authors with bias, slanted opinions and questionable facts is a dangerous proposal. Championing age-inappropriate obscenity in school library books solely because the authors are black is absolutely wrong. It’s interesting that Mr. Scott capitalizes the word Black, but uses lower case for white. Perhaps Mr. Scott has been influenced by Angie Thomas’s novel The Hate U Give, which absolutely should not be in school libraries because of the vulgar dialog.
Mr. Scott, thank you for your thought-provoking arguments regarding placing restrictions on certain books in our schools. I believe there is a need to ensure that standards associated with age-appropriate content are in place as it relates to media that the children in our schools are provided access to. However, as you suggest, decision-makers must also stay cognizant of how calls to limit access to books may curtail students’ exposure to diverse perspectives and hinder critical thinking. It is crucial that we find balanced approaches that prioritize the importance of our schools’ and colleges’ mandate to provide its learners with a comprehensive and inclusive education that equips them with the knowledge and empathy needed to navigate a diverse society.
Our educational systems must also exercise caution when considering decisions to limit access to information based on isolated instances that may differ from a group’s or individual’s beliefs or preferences. In doing so, we risk erasing factual information or events of historical significance. History has shown that when we suppress or censor knowledge, we risk repeating past mistakes and perpetuating ignorance. A well-rounded education should encompass various perspectives and historical truths, even when they are uncomfortable or challenge our preconceived notions.
Thanks again for raising these critical issues, and I hope our community can engage in a thoughtful and productive conversation to ensure the best education for our students. By embracing the principles of open discourse, we can ensure that our educational system remains a beacon of intellectual enlightenment, promoting a more informed and just society for all.
Yes, very well said! Don’t want to be labeled a hate group then don’t be a hate group. Easy peasy.
Thank you, Mr. Scott, for continuing to fight for our children. The M4L and our BOARD are pitiful in their blatant hatred of anyone different from them. We know they are fearful people who think that change won’t happen if they try to hide it from their kids. Or, that if their kid reads about another’s experiences it may make them feel empathetic to the groups of people that their parents have sown hatred in them about and question the “goodness or honestly or intelligence” of their parents. That is terrifying to them and it should be because it will happen eventually no matter what they do. I have seen it happen time and time again when a kid starts to have their own opinions and values. The parent who only sees the child as an extension of themselves have a really hard time with that one. I appreciate you showing up time and time again at the school board meetings calling on this board to resign. If they cannot do what they took an oath to do FOR EVERY CHILD then they need to step aside so we can get a real school board to work in there. We are going to need brain power and dedication due to the new NC Parent’s Education Bill and the Stripping of Tons of Public School funds with no plan at all from the NCGOP. That utter mess will keep even a decent board’s hands full and I have no confidence in this one at all.