Cumberland County Schools committee removes 2 books from circulation, redistributes 6
Editor's note: This story has been updated to include the correct percentage of white authors whose books were under review.
At least two books have been removed from Cumberland County Schools, while six were redistributed “to appropriate grade levels” and another two are under review, the district’s curriculum committee was told April 4.
The titles of those books were not mentioned at the meeting but were provided to The Fayetteville Observer by Lindsay Whitley of the school system on Friday.
The move came after Superintendent Marvin Connelly announced at the school board’s Nov. 1 meeting that a review was underway for “media … to ensure materials are appropriate for students at each grade level.”
Several community members raised concerns at the Feb. 14 meeting about whether the district ban will target minority and LGBTQ authors.
Connelly and district officials have said none of the books were physically removed from circulation, while district officials said the titles had been temporarily removed from a digital search catalog.
More: 'Banning books has never been a good idea': Cumberland County Schools reviewing some books
Sabrina Steigelman, the district’s media services coordinator, told curriculum committee members at the April 4 meeting that a book review committee assessed a total of 84 books, with two removed from circulation, two under review and six redistributed to appropriate grade levels.
The two books that remain under review are "Deogratias: A Tale of Rwanda" by Jean Philippe-Stassen and "Lucky" by Alice Sebold.
The two books removed because of low checkouts are "Sex is a Funny Word" by Cory Silverberg and "Push" by Sapphire.
"Sex is a Funny Word" was published in 2015, and has never been checked out, Whitley said.
"Push" was published in 1996 and has only circulated seven times, he said.
Steigelman said the removal of the two books does not mean that another school within Cumberland County Schools can’t purchase them.
Books that were redistributed from middle school to high school were "A Court of Frost and Starlight" and "A Court of Mist and Fury" by Sarah J. Maas; "Homecoming: A Novel" by Yaa Gyasi; and "Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Perez.
Books that were redistributed from elementary to middle school and high school are "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe" by Benjamin Alire Saenz and "This One Summer" by Mariko Tamaki.
The book review committee includes certified media coordinators, certified teachers, district-level educators and parents, according to information Steigelman presented to the curriculum committee.
Data Steigelman presented to the curriculum committee April 4 showed demographics of the authors of the titles being reviewed were 25% Black, 8% Latino or Latina, 58% white and 17% who identify as “LGBTQIA+.”
Books under review have included “Beloved” and “The Bluest Eye” by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Toni Morrison; “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas; “Warriors Don’t Cry” by Melba Pattillo Beals; and “All Boys Aren't Blue” by George M. Johnson, according to a list provided to The Fayetteville Observer in February. Morrison, Thomas, Beals and Johnson are all Black writers.
School board member Carrie Sutton said at the district’s Feb. 14 meeting that she did not think books should be removed unless they are inappropriate or sexually explicit.
Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528.
More: Pitts: Here is the full list of ‘reviewed’ books — Cumberland schools must halt book-killers
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: The latest on Cumberland County Schools books review
