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The Fight To Save A Swing-State School Board From Far-Right Extremists
HuffPost
Republicans took over a purple county school board in North Carolina two years ago — and it could get even worse this fall.
Last September, the New Hanover County Board of Education in North Carolina voted 4-3 to remove “Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You,” by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi, from its high school curriculum.
“Stamped” is an award-winning nonfiction book, specifically written to help teens understand the concept of systemic racism. But according to the parent in the district who led the crusade against the book, it promotes anti-American sentiment and disrespect for the Bible.
The decision to remove the book — temporarily, according to the school board, though it hasn’t said anything about when the ban may be lifted — from the district’s Advanced Placement Language and Composition curriculum was one of many controversial decisions the school board has made since four Republicans won open seats in the 2022 election.
It was also the decision that made at least one parent get more involved and follow the board’s actions more closely.
“That really caught my attention,” Valerie Noel, who has four children in the district, told HuffPost. “As a former English teacher, I am very against book banning and censorship.”