Wakulla pulls book about desegregation from elementary schools after complaint over racist slur

The Wakulla County School District has removed a book from its elementary school shelves after it was deemed to not be age appropriate.

“Little Rock Nine (Turning Points)” by Marshall Poe was reviewed by the school district last fall after a parent complained about racial slurs in the text, according to the Florida Freedom to Read Project.

The graphic novel, aimed for 8- to 12-year-olds, is not banned from the district, according to a statement from Sunny Chancy, assistant superintendent.

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“The outcome of the review for the book in question was the recommendation to move the book from elementary school to a grade level deemed more appropriate,” she wrote. “This does not constitute a ban, as WCSD students will still have the opportunity to read the book during their K-12 experience.”

Wakulla County isn't the first school district in Florida to remove a book from its libraries after parent complaints. Recently, in Indian River County, a graphic adaptation of "The Diary of Anne Frank" was removed after conservative advocacy group Moms for Liberty complained the book minimalized the Holocaust and showed the young girl's thoughts about other female bodies.

According to public records posted by the Florida Freedom to Read Project on Twitter, a parent filed a complaint with Riversink Elementary School, alleging the book wasn’t age appropriate for third graders because of the use of the N-word nine times and of another racist term for Black people.

The parent recommended another title, “The Story of Ruby Bridges: A Biography Book for New Readers,” be used instead. The book was written for 6- to 9-year-olds, according to Amazon.

Two of the three reviewers wrote the Little Rock Nine graphic novel should be moved to another grade level.

“I think it is important for children and adults to learn about our country’s history. However, elementary age children do not need to learn/know about the n-word,” wrote a reviewer.

In a Twitter post, the Florida Freedom to Read Project blamed the Florida Department of Education for legislation that they say has put school districts on edge about the contents of their libraries.

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“The FLDOE has continuously played these removals off as local overreactions, and downplayed their role having created rules that result in a loss of certification if found in violation,” the post reads.

“This is the chilling effect at work. Strong leadership and guidance is needed to fix this, and all our educators get from the FLDOE is scapegoating.”

Last year, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the Curriculum Transparency Act, which requires districts to catalog every book on their shelves and put a formal review process in place for complaints.

Neither Florida Department of Education nor the governor's office have called for any bans on books, but parent complaints have some districts preemptively pulling books off of shelves, even during the review process, to err on the side caution.

A new bill passed during this year's legislative session, however, would require districts to pull texts within five days of the complaint and remain off shelves during the review process. The bill has not yet been signed into law.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida school district removes book Little Rock Nine insome schools