Living in denial: American parents demand removal of anti-racism books

In a classic example of living in denial about the pressing problem of racism in American society, parents in the US have sought removal of books dealing with the phenomenon from public libraries.

According to the American Library Association (ALA), a non-profit that promotes libraries and library education internationally, demands by parents to take out books from library shelves addressing the problem of racism soared in the US in 2020.

The organization comes out with an annual list of “challenged books” on the basis of parents’ preferences.

For the first time, the Top-10 chart for 2020 contains a number of anti-racism books, which incidentally comes amidst staggering rise in racist violence in the country.   

While the list is topped by Alex Gino’s book ‘George,’ and Jason Reynolds’ book ‘Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You’, a history of racism for children, comes next in the list of challenged titles.

Parents have accused the author of ‘Stamped’ of “selective storytelling incidents” and claim the story “does not encompass racism against all people,” according to the ALA.

The author, in response to the criticism, said he was proud of the work he and Reynolds had done on the book, and “not at all surprised” to see it making to the Top 10 list of challenged books.

“It is ironic that our book is being challenged since it documents how generations of Americans have challenged the idea that the racial groups are equals and have fought to suppress the very truths contained on every page of Stamped. The heartbeat of racism is denial, and the history in Stamped will not be denied, nor will young people’s access to this book be cancelled,” he said in a statement.

The ALA cited the case of a school in New Jersey where parents demanded that the book ‘Stamped’ be shelved. It says a teacher there was forced to resign after receiving hate mail from parents.

Another book by Reynolds, ‘All American Boys’, is positioned third on the ALA list, which follows an act of police brutality towards a young Black teenager, and the white teenager who witnesses it.

The book is challenged as it is “thought to promote anti-police views,” contain divisive topics, and be “too much of a sensitive matter right now,” according to the ALA.

A picture book ‘Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story About Racial Injustice’, which narrates the story of one Black and one white family after the police shooting of a Black man, also makes it to the list for “promoting anti-police views.”

Racial attitude

The incidents of hate crimes and racist violence in the US, mostly targeting Asian-Americans or African-Americans, have become increasingly acceptable in recent years, with white supremacists reinforcing the trend.

The response of American parents to anti-racism books only illustrates the deep-rooted negative racial attitudes among Americans, which has often manifested in racist violence.

While rightwing white supremacists have been at the forefront of racist violence, law enforcement agencies have been equally complicit for failing to protect the vulnerable communities.

In mid-March, a gunman went on a rampage in Atlanta, killing eight people at three spas, six of them women of Asian descent. It came as major cities across the country witnessed an almost 150 percent surge in anti-Asian hate crimes last year.

The cold-blooded murder of George Floyd last year caused deep trauma for people of color across the US. The ongoing trial of former US officer Derek Chauvin has revealed how witnesses of the event continue to suffer, both at the hands of law enforcement agencies and the society.

While the issue has been largely ignored by the international community and the global human rights watchdogs, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) had last year convened an emergency session to discuss US police brutality and racial discrimination in the wake of Floyd’s killing.

It came after a letter was sent by Burkina Faso on behalf of African countries at the UN, expressing grave concern over surge in violence against African Americans.

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