In the city of Cumming, Georgia, Allison Strickland made headlines when she called for the removal of four books from local school libraries. Her efforts were inspired by a law implemented by the state’s Republican lawmakers, but despite the controversial law coming into effect earlier this year, The Associated Press discovered that there have been very few challenges to books using this law. One of the main factors limiting complaints is that the law only permits parents of current students to challenge books.
Although book challenges are not a new phenomenon, they have seen a significant increase since 2020 as a response to the content children encounter in public schools. Conservatives are particularly concerned about books that address subjects such as sexuality, gender, race, and religion, and they want to prevent children from reading material that they find objectionable. PEN America, an organization advocating for freedom of expression, reported that there were 4,000 instances of banned books across the country from July 2021 to December 2022.
While there are ongoing battles in Forsyth County, where Strickland made her protests, The Associated Press surveyed 15 other major school districts in Georgia and found that none of them have received requests to remove books under the new law. Last year, Georgia conservatives aimed to make it easier to challenge books, but they recognized that limiting challenges to parents only would restrict themselves as well. State Representative James Burchett, a Republican from Waycross, stated during a 2022 hearing that they did not want the law to become a tool for any taxpayer to harass the school system.
However, even with these limitations, some books are being removed. Kasey Meehan, the Director of Freedom to Read at PEN America, noted that some schools are preemptively removing books before parents even make requests. This has happened in Forsyth County, where documents obtained by The Associated Press revealed that a librarian had removed two books targeted by Strickland just before they were challenged. Critics argue that Georgia’s law should allow for easier removal of books, as they believe it is being interpreted too narrowly. In most states, anyone can challenge a book, not just parents. However, some districts in other states also restrict book challenges to parents.
It seems that Georgia’s law is preventing widespread challenges from a few conservative activists. Research has shown that nationwide, book challenges are primarily driven by a small number of individuals, who are sometimes not even parents themselves. Forsyth County, with its 54,000 students, has become a hotspot for conservative activism regarding public education. Strickland, a parent of two students at West Forsyth High School, complained about sexually explicit books earlier this year, rallying support from the group known as the Mama Bears, who recruit book challengers.
Strickland took issue with four novels in particular: “Dime” by E.R. Frank, which tells the story of a girl lured into prostitution; “Tilt” by Ellen Hopkins, which revolves around a 17-year-old girl’s pregnancy and a 16-year-old boy falling in love with an HIV-positive boy; “Perfect,” another book by Hopkins that explores the challenges faced by teens due to unrealistic expectations; and “Oryx and Crake” by Margaret Atwood, a dystopian novel about a plague that wipes out most of humanity. After examining the books, a Forsyth principal sided with one of Strickland’s complaints and removed “The Nerdy and the Dirty” by B.T. Gottfred. However, the principal concluded that the remaining books should remain on the shelves. Strickland then appealed to the school board.
During the board meeting, Strickland vehemently expressed her belief that these books had no educational value and covered explicit and disturbing subject matter. She argued that the themes included child prostitution, forced rape, pedophilia, bestiality, sodomy, and drug and alcohol abuse, all involving very young minors and often with adult partners. There were dissenting voices, including T.J. McKinney, a teacher at a Forsyth middle school who believed that students need to see their own struggles reflected in the books they read. McKinney also argued that shielding older students from vulgarity or sex is pointless since they are already exposed to these topics in high school.
Forsyth County Superintendent Jeff Bearden supported the principal’s recommendation to keep the books, as he had twice before. However, the law requires the school board to have the final say. In April, the board sided with the administrators and retained “Endlessly Ever After,” a choose-your-own-adventure fairy tale. But in May, they overruled Bearden and implemented a new policy requiring parental consent beforehand for students to read “The Handsome Girl & Her Beautiful Boy” by B.T. Gottfred. When faced with Strickland’s challenges in June, the board also imposed the requirement of parental approval for all four books. This compromise left many dissatisfied.
Before the board vote, Cindy Martin, the leader of the Mama Bears, pleaded with the members not to compromise on the issue of child pedophilia. Some, like McKinney, regarded the decision as a loss because students still did not have the freedom to choose their own books. Forsyth County, once a rural area known for its history of racial violence, has transformed into an educated, affluent, and diverse community. However, it remains heavily Republican, and the opposition to the district’s diversity, equity, and inclusion plan spilled over into book protests. In early 2022, officials temporarily removed eight books from libraries, although they eventually returned all of them except for “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson, a memoir about growing up queer.
Opponents mobilized against the bans, with high school student Shivi Mehta advocating for libraries to retain their full collection. Mehta expressed her desire not to have certain books locked away and inaccessible because of the decisions made by politicians. Critics of the bans continued to read explicit excerpts from the books during board meetings and called for their removal. The board eventually banned a member of the Mama Bears from speaking at meetings after instructing her to stop. The Mama Bears subsequently filed a lawsuit, which resulted in a federal judge ruling that the policy unconstitutionally restricted free speech, and the district had to pay $107,000 in legal fees.
Others lodged complaints with the U.S. Department of Education, accusing the district of excluding stories about individuals who are not white or straight. In a warning issued in May, the department agreed with the accusations, stating that the Forsyth schools may have created a hostile environment that violated federal laws against race and sex discrimination. The department suggested that this environment led to increased fears and the possibility of harassment among students. The district settled the complaint by agreeing to explain the book removal process, offer supportive measures, and conduct a survey among students to gauge their opinions on the matter.
While concerns from the federal government may have restrained administrators for now, the battle over books is far from over. Shivi Mehta believes that the momentum to ban or restrict books is here to stay.
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