A New Jersey board of education meeting got heated on Tuesday after an anonymous group reached out to parents demanding “graphic, vulgar, and explicit” books be banned from school libraries.
On April 21, an email signed by the group Ramsey Parents Union was sent out, expressing outrage that books Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison and Genderqueer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe were available in the Ramsey High School library, Patch.com reported. The group allegedly called for other parents to appear at the board meeting and share their own grievances about the literature.
But the move backfired, as the books had more support than the anonymous parents union group likely anticipated.
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Elaine Jones, whose daughters graduated from Ramsey in 2013, was the first speaker to address the board during the public comments section of the meeting.
“As a former middle school language arts teacher, I understand the need to teach topics that make students feel uncomfortable because people learn when they are pushed past their comfort zone,” she said.
Jones explained that as a teacher, she used a book that taught her sixth grade class about the Negro Baseball League. Prior to reading the book, she said that her students didn’t realize how serious segregation was in the United States.
“Contrary to what some groups are currently stating,” Jones continued, “the book’s purpose is not to make students today feel guilty about the past. This book’s purpose is to make today’s students understand the past and how now we must all continue to move forward with equality.”
Ellen O’Keefe, a parent and a local librarian, was the first speaker to address the anonymous letter with the board.
“I know too well about censorship and the banning of books can divide communities,” she said at the podium. “[Librarians] deserve our support, they deserve our respect, and I trust they are going to have materials that our children can read when it’s appropriate. I’m deeply disappointed that someone sent a letter to the community and didn’t use his or her real name because it’s really hard to call out, speaking to anonymity.”
Cindy Nicklin said that she was thankful the “so-called Ramsey Parent Union” invited parents to speak.
“I want my children to learn about people who are different from them. I want them to feel safe expressing themselves, whoever they turn out to be. I want them to learn from the past and to work to make the future better for themselves and everyone around them,” she said.
But not everyone was as receptive to the books, which center around themes of race and sexuality. Some claimed they just didn’t want their children to read about sex.
Parent Allison Nordman, who questioned the board’s spending on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and gender-identity efforts and if it affected enrollment, dismissed Lawn Boy as “graphic, vulgar, and explicit,” according to Patch.com.
Nonetheless, most parents appeared to be in support of the literature being available to students. Lawn Boy is a coming-of-age memoir with a main character who not only discovers his sexuality, but also the social implications of race and ethnicity. Gender Queer addresses self-discovery and explores the protagonist’s journey to accepting themselves as non-binary.
“I can’t believe—in the 21st century—I have to stand here and speak against banning books in our schools,” Christy Ross said after addressing the board. “Books not only play a quintessential role in teaching reading, writing, and speaking skills, but…they teach students to think critically, connect them with shared experiences, teach compassion and empathy, and force them to examine their own prejudices as well as instill a sense of gratitude for what they already have.”
Before stepping down from the podium, Ross slammed critics who have never even read the books they were condemning. She called the uproar “manufactured outrage designed to create chaos.”
The Ramsey School District did not respond to The Daily Beast’s request for comment Friday.
