Stop us if you’ve heard this before.
A York County school board believes that books and poems by black authors are too daring for high school graduates.
Following the example of Central York and countless other schools across the country, elected officials in Hanover’s South Western School District plan to end an elective class that teaches literature by authors and poets from historically marginalized groups.
Never mind that the list of books featured in the Literary Awards winners includes some of the brightest creative minds working today. By definition, these people have won National Book Awards, Pulitzer Prizes, MacArthur Fellowships, and more.
Countless readers have been captivated by these works, which tell stories about the Underground Railroad, the Trail of Tears and migrant workers in California.
Yet a few nagging nabobs attending secret meetings in warehouses believe that the contents of these books are too hot to touch.
As we have already said, the best way to get children to do something is to tell them it is forbidden.
So, children, please not Read the following books.
Don’t search for them on the internet. Don’t borrow them from your local public library. Don’t make a TikTok reacting to what you read. Don’t make copies of the poems to stick on bathroom walls. Don’t recite those poems at lunch. Don’t pass those books around in the locker room.
Don’t send emails to your school board members telling them how misguided their censorship is. Don’t show up to the next school board meeting. Don’t ask questions that might make the adults in the room uncomfortable.
Seriously, kids, don’t learn to think critically. Don’t form your own opinions.
And most importantly, do not under any circumstances share this list with your friends.
For your own good, avoid these works:
- “Adamantine” by Shin Yu Pai
- “Beloved” by Toni Morrison
- “Borders” by Thomas King
- “The Collected Poems” by Langston Hughes
- “The Complete Collected Poems” by Maya Angelou
- “Firepower” by Chrystos
- “A God at the Door” by Tishani Doshi
- “The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck
- “Homegirls & Hand Grenades” by Sonia Sanchez
- “Hoodwinked” by David Hernandez and Amy Gerstler
- “Pushing the Bear” by Diane Glancy
- “Under the Feet of Jesus” by Helena Maria Viramontes
- The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
- “Windrush Child” by John Agard
Psst, for those who wish to question authority: The next South Western School Board meetings are Wednesday at 7 p.m. and again on August 28 at the district administration office at 225 Bowman Road in Hanover.
