ACLU of Missouri today filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court, for the Eastern District of Missouri, on behalf of parents of Wentzville school district students, to stop the removal of books that are by and about communities of color, LGBTQ people and other marginalized groups.
“School boards cannot ban books because the books and their characters illustrate viewpoints different of those of school board; especially when they target books presenting the viewpoints of racial and sexual minorities, as they have done in Wentzville,” stated Anthony Rothert, Director of Integrated Advocacy of ACLU of Missouri.
“The first amendment protects the right to share ideas, including the right of people to receive information and knowledge. We must protect this right, including educators’ and students’ rights to talk and learn about race and gender in schools.”
The Wentzville School Board has banned All Boys Aren’t Blue by George Matthew Johnson; Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel; Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero; Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon; Invisible Girl: A Novel by Lisa Jewell; Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison; Modern Romance: An Investigation by Aziz Ansari and Eric Klinenberg; and The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison.
Download the Class Action Complaint for Prospective Relief