Book Ban Overturned

More and more students are speaking up and taking action toward the injustices experienced within their respective schools. We saw students of Highland Park speak out in an open letter asking their school to do better and more recently students of York County organized alongside the Panther Anti-Racist Union group to protest their district’s ban on Black and Latinx educational books. A student, Christina Ellis, commented, “We believe this is wrong. We believe that this shows discrimination, in a way, for banning 80% to 90% of books that are from BIPOC authors”. The importance of incorporating books written by BIPOC authors within education is not only pivotal to creating access among BIPOC learners but also provides BIPOC students with stories that offer representation, identity, and resonance. The school board president, Jane Johnson, commented that the initial pushback from parents was rooted in the context of the banned books creating polarity and division. Once again, another account of white parents forming a PAC to gaslight educational equity as a divisive tactic to maintain their comfort and patriarchal curriculum. The students of York claimed that they will continue to speak out to facilitate change. We love to see it!