- A school board in South Carolina held a meeting on Monday to discuss the book “Between the World and Me” by renowned Black author Ta-Nehisi Coates.
- Surprisingly, Coates himself crashed the meeting, which was focused on whether his book should be banned.
- His presence was in support of a teacher named Mary Wood, who had her lesson on the book’s themes interrupted in February.
The Daily Beast reported that Ta-Nehisi Coates, a Black author, created a stir by attending a school board meeting in South Carolina where his book on racial justice was being debated for a potential ban.
The meeting was held by the Lexington-Richland District 5 School Board to discuss “Between the World and Me,” Coates’ autobiographical work from 2015 that explores the experience of being Black and encountering racism in the US.
Coates’ appearance at the meeting was to show support for Mary Wood, an educator at Chapin High School. Wood had her Advanced Placement Language and Composition lesson on the book halted in February due to complaints received by the school board, as reported by DailyMail.com.
During the meeting, Coates sat beside Wood at the back of the room, according to CBS 19.
Wood’s lesson in February involved analyzing the themes of Coates’ book and watching videos that address systemic racism. However, this sparked backlash from some parents and students, as noted by The Post and Courier.
According to district records reviewed by The Post and Courier, emails sent to the school board expressed that students felt “uncomfortable” and “ashamed to be Caucasian” as a result of the lesson.
Subsequently, Wood was summoned to a meeting with the assistant principal of Chapin High and the district’s director of secondary education. This led to the removal of the book from the course, as per the newspaper.
Members of the South Carolina Freedom Caucus argued that Wood’s lesson violated state budget provisions. The state law prohibits the use of state funds for lessons that cause individuals to feel “discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress based on their race or sex,” as reported by The Post and Courier.
PEN America, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting free expression, condemned the removal of Coates’ book as “an outrageous act of government censorship,” according to a press release on their website.
During the school board meeting, opinions were divided on whether Coates’ book should be taught. Supporters of the teacher, including individuals wearing the school’s blue colors, attended the meeting, as reported by DailyMail.com.
Although Coates did not address the meeting, others spoke in defense of his book. Tess Pratt, the chairwoman of Chapin High’s English department, expressed regret for taking Coates’ books away from students and acknowledged that silencing his story was wrong, according to DailyMail.com.
No vote was taken at the end of the meeting, as reported.
Insider reached out to Rebecca Blackburn Hines, the chair of the school board, for comment but did not receive an immediate response.
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