By Jeremy Morrison
The Escambia County School District continues to review books for objectionable content and removal. Most of the books on Escambia’s list have been challenged by one person, Northview High English teacher Vicki Baggett.
The novel “Perks of Being a Wallflower” was the first title reviewed favorably about favorable by the district committee, but the book was ultimately pulled as a reading option for high school seniors by the Escambia County School Board after Baggett appealed the decision.
On Nov. 28, a school district review committee began its assessment of five titles that Baggett wanted to be removed from schools—“And Tango Makes Three” by Justine Richardson, “When Adrian Became a Brother” by Kyle Lukoff, “When Wilma Rudolph Played Basketball” by Mark Weakland, “Stella Brings the Family” by Miriam Schiffer and “Draw Me a Star” by Eric Carle.
“And Tango Makes Three,” based on a true story, is about two male penguins at New York’s Central Park’s Zoo who form a bond and raise a chick. “When Aidan Became a Brother” addresses transgender issues. “When Wilma Rudolph Played Basketball” deals with issues of race and discrimination. And “Stella Brings the Family” is also about characters with same-sex parents. Meanwhile, Baggett objected to “Draw Me a Star” due to a nude drawing in the book.
Only “When Adrian Became a Brother” was retained by less than a unanimous committee vote; that title was retained on a 4-1 vote. Baggett has the right to appeal these decisions to the school board.
The district has begun the process on several titles that Baggett found objectionable. In December, Sherman Alexie’s “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,” “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” by George M. Johnson and Tony Morrison’s “Bluest Eyes” were sent to committees for review.
This month, the review process has begun for “Drama” by Raina Telgeimeier, “New Kid” by Jerry Craft,” “57 Bus” by Dashka Slater, “Looking for Alaska” by John Green, “The Nowhere Girls” by Amy Reed and “Ground Zero” by Alan Gratz.
Escambia’s assessment process is proving time-consuming. Details concerning the review committee’s decisions are available on a district website tracking the progress of the review process here.