A school district in Florida has banned three LGBTQ+-themed books from classrooms and libraries, the Pensacola News Journal reports.
The board of Escambia County Public Schools in northwest Florida voted to remove All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson; And Tango Makes Three, written by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell and illustrated by Henry Cole; and When Aidan Became a Brother, written by Kyle Lukoff and illustrated by Kaylani Juanita, from schools in the district.
And Tango Makes Three and When Aidan Became a Brother were among the most frequently banned children’s picture books in the 2021-2022 school year, according to a report released last week by the literary nonprofit PEN America. All Boys Aren’t Blue was the third most-challenged book in the country in 2021, according to the American Library Association, while And Tango Makes Three has made the ALA’s most-banned-book lists nine times.
The Escambia County district previously banned Stephen Chbosky’s young adult novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower from its schools.
Kevin Adams, a member of the school board, supported the ban, saying, “Go get the book if you want to, but it’s just something that should not be in the school district. We should be concentrated on the education of these students,” WKRG-TV reports.
An unnamed high school student who spoke at the board meeting disagreed, saying, “I am currently embarrassed to be an Escambia County student tonight. When I look at this book cover, When Aidan Became A Brother, we have three black characters. Students are able to see themselves in this book.”
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.
