Banned Books: School board discusses the potential abolishment of controversial materials

This article won second place in the 2024 Michigan Interscholastic Press Association spring awards ceremony.

The first week of October is dedicated to preventing the removal or restriction of books based on their content, otherwise known as Banned Books Week. However, some Northview community members went into this month with a different desire, for eight books to be removed from district choice reading libraries due to controversial subject matter.

Moms for Liberty is a group of activists dedicated to, “organize, educate and empower parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government,” as per their website’s mission statement. On June 12, secretary of the Kent County Moms of Liberty chapter and Northview community member Cal Morton filed a request with the board of education to remove eight books from choice reading libraries due to he and his group’s opinions regarding explicit content in the books. 

The books under review are  “Kingdom of Ash” by Sarah J. Mass, “Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic” by Alison Bechdel, “Push” by Sapphire, “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson, “Lawn Boy” by Jonathan Evison, “Tricks” by Ellen Hopkins, “Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl” by Jesse Andrews and “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison. 

These books include topics such as LGBTQ+ issues, sexual abuse and racism. However, it is important to note that all of these volumes are only available for grades seven through twelve and none are required books for class, only optional choice reading books. 

When originally contacted, Morton clarified that the eight books in question are not suitable for classroom material due specifically to their sexual content; however, he does not agree with the usage of ‘ban’ to describe this situation. 

“To start out, in all fairness, myself, the Northview Community Members I represent and Moms for Liberty contend the use of the word “banning” is a false narrative,” Morton said. “We believe in the rule of law and that only age-appropriate material should be available in the Northview Public Schools system.  The eight books in question do not meet the statutes laid out in Michigan Compiled Law or the Michigan Revised School Code and therefore, need to be removed from Northview as they contain sexually explicit matter.”

Interim Superintendent Christina Hinds is currently responding to all citizen comments on the topic voiced at the community board meeting on October 9. Community member comments were, as a majority, unsupportive of Morton’s request. 

In a newsletter/email sent to the Northview community, Hinds addressed these concerns and provided insight into what the school board was doing to thoroughly examine these books and their themes. 

“The district has established a complaint review committee to review the books,” Hinds said in the newsletter/email. “The committee held a procedural meeting yesterday [September 20] to hear the concerns of the community members and to develop a timeline to review the books.”

The committee consists of community members, staff members and two board members. All members are required to analyze the books based on four criterias; relationship of the material to the course of study, uniqueness of the content/presentation, maturation and comprehension levels of the information/ideas presented and finally, controversial nature of the content/presentation. 

While there has been no decision reached yet, the school board already has a meeting in the works for December to come to an agreement. The final decision will be left up to Hinds.

“[The complaint review committee] plan[s] to regroup in early December to present their recommendations,” Hinds said. “At the conclusion of the second committee meeting, the members will vote by simple majority and submit a written report to me. I will then make the decision and notify the petitioner and the board of education.”

Throughout this whole process, Hinds has stayed true to community beliefs by not discriminating against anyone’s personal viewpoints. 

“At Northview Public Schools, we do not seek to change anyone’s views or beliefs,” Hinds said. “Under the guidance and leadership of the board, we address disagreements through a systematic and transparent process, ensuring that every perspective is considered and respected.”