Students strike back after books removed from school libraries in Kansas City Northland
READ MORE
Highlighting Black stories
A collection of stories from The Star from the past year centered on Black life across the Kansas City metro.
Expand All
Students in Kansas City’s Northland have launched a petition aimed at stopping area school districts from pulling books from their high school’s libraries in response to an outcry from a parent’s group.
The Students against banning books in NKC District petition, organized by Northland Student Association, had garnered 782 signatures by Wednesday afternoon.
It is in response to the North Kansas City School District pulling two books from the shelves that The Northland Parent Association has deemed inappropriate for students because of its sexual or violent content.
“NKC Schools became aware of concerns over two books available in our high schools’ libraries,” the district said in a statement. “The books in question were pulled from each of our four high schools while the district conducts a review of processes pertaining to book selection, check-out, and review.
“NKC Schools provides a variety of books for students and strives for a diverse and engaging collection. We always appreciate and encourage community feedback as the families we serve are valuable partners in student success.”
The district confirmed on Wednesday that the books being reviewed are “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” a series of personal essays about growing up Black and LGBTQ by George M. Johnson and “Fun Home,” a graphic novel by Alison Bechdel. They were removed from the libraries at North Kansas City, Oak Park, Staley and Winnetonka high schools
Jay Richmond, president of the Northland Parent Association, objected to the books during the North Kansas City Schools’ board of education meeting on Oct. 26.
“I’m shocked and absolutely aggravated at what is in our school system, what’s in our school libraries and what is available to these students,” Richmond said.
After singling out the graphic novel “Fun Home,” Richmond said: “If I were to hand this material out to a minor or read or give any of these books to a minor, I would be charged with solicitation of a minor.”
The student group, however, said in its petition that the books targeted by the parents association are centered around themes faced by people of color, women and the LGBTQ community. Liberty Public Schools, according to the students, is also removing books the parent association has objected to.
On the group’s Instagram page, the students said the book banning is a form of censorship and is against their First Amendment rights.
Liberty Public Schools is using a similar process to review the appropriateness of “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” officials told The Star’s editorial staff.
This story was originally published November 10, 2021 at 2:27 PM with the headline "Students strike back after books removed from school libraries in Kansas City Northland."
