Free Speech Groups Protest GLBT Book-Banning at NJ School District
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BY SLJ Staff -- School Library Journal, 05/19/2010
A coalition of free speech groups is protesting the recent banning of the book Revolutionary Voices: A Multicultural Queer Youth Anthology (Alyson) from New Jersey’s Rancocas Valley High School library following a complaint by a conservative group.
Leaders of the National Coalition Against Censorship, the National Council of Teachers of English, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, and People For the American Way Foundation wrote a letter to Rancocas Valley Regional High School.
“No one has to read something just because it's on the library shelf. No book is right for everyone, and the role of the library is to allow students to make choices according to their own interests, experiences, and family values,” says the letter. “"Some parents prefer to keep their children from reading about sex; others may strongly disapprove of teen sexual activity and still not censor their children's reading. Some parents appreciate books that delve into the subject of sexual orientation, because they can create opportunities for adults and teens to talk about the topic. Even if the books are too mature for some students, they will be meaningful to others.”
The book is described by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), as “the first creative resource by and for queer and questioning youth of every color, class, religion, gender and ability.” It shares gay students' coming-out stories and reflections on identity and was named by School Library Journal as one of the best adult books for high school students in 2001. The book’s editor, Amy Sonnie, has also spoken out against the ban on her blog, Banned Librarian.
The Rancocas Valley Regional High School banned the book following a complaint by the local chapter of broadcaster Glenn Beck's conservative 9.12 project, which specifically singled out books with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender themes.
"We did it for the children," Beverly Marinelli, a grandmother and member of 9.12, told the Philadelphia Enquirer, saying that the book, which contains some sexually explicit material, is “pervasively vulgar, obscene, and inappropriate.”
Meanwhile, the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey (ACLU-NJ) has sent an Open Public Records Act to the Rancocas Valley School District for documents that will shed light on its decision to remove the title from library shelves.
“The ultimate decision of whether a book can be removed does not rest simply on whether a few individuals or students may be offended," says ACLU-NJ Executive Director Deborah Jacobs. “Decisions to censor literature should only be based on a standard set of neutral criteria unrelated to the political or social themes in the book.”
The ACLU filed the request to find out whether the school district's policies were applied fairly and without discrimination.
"Educators and school librarians are the best qualified to determine what kinds of books and materials schools should keep in their libraries," says Jacobs. "Neither political groups nor parents have a right to impose their decisions, morals, or values on all students and families."
In 1982, the United States Supreme Court held that school boards have only a limited right to remove books from school libraries. “Local school boards may not remove books from school library shelves simply because they dislike the ideas contained in those books,” the Court explained. Rather, removals should be based only on “educational suitability,” with school boards taking the input of educators into account.
“If we started removing every book that one group or another objects to, our libraries' shelves would practically be bare,” Jacobs notes. "The idea is to expose students to a diversity of themes and views, not to tightly restrict the information they receive.”
