PLAINFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Northview Public Schools is holding a closed meeting to review eight books that may be banned for 7th to 12th grade students after receiving a complaint from a community member.
These books have been available to students for optional reading. They involve themes including coping with racism in America and sexually-abusive households, along with LGBTQ+ topics.
"You have a choice. You have a choice whether to read it or to put it back up on the shelf. And I really do believe that we have the ability to, you know, figure out what is right for us personally, and I think that we have to be given that kind of choice," said Debbie Mikula, Executive Director for the Michigan Library Association.
Mikula says that the age of students is important to consider when deciding on appropriate reading material, but cautions against a blanket-ban on books for students across all ages, as she says students and parents have the right to chose what books as student does and does not read.
"Students also have first amendment rights that need to be protected," said Mikula.
Northview Public School responded in a statement:
"The committee - consisting of members of the community, staff members, and two Board members - will conduct a thorough review of each book and present their recommendation to the interim superintendent. In our dedication to ensuring transparency, we will keep parents informed throughout the review process."
The books that are being considered by the committee are:
- Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Mass
- Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel
- Push by Sapphire
- All Boys Aren't Blue by George M Johnson
- Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison
- Tricks by Ellen Hopkins
- Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
- The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
While the community member who has been leading the effort to remove these books from the district has not made themselves available for comment, Mikula says that banning books can limit the worldview of students.
"We all know that book banning has a long history. It's nothing new, and when a book gets challenged or banned, someone is trying to decide, you know, what's best for everyone based on their own beliefs and their own feelings," said Mikula.
"I don't have any doubt that our high schoolers are intelligent enough, independent enough, to interrogate, and to challenge, and to learn from the texts, which they may disagree with, but everyone has the right to read those books," she added.
Many of the books have had both successful and unsuccessful attempts at being banned in other school districts across the country.
The Bluest Eye, which was written by Nobel Prize winning author Toni Morrison in 1970, is considered an "American classic" by many critics. The Bluest Eye was banned in Wentzville, Missouri in 2022 and was challenged twice in Michigan, by Howell in 2007 and Northville in 2016. Both Michigan challenges to remove the book from AP curriculum in the districts failed and it is still assigned reading to this day.
"We have the right, to be able to look at books within our libraries or materials within our libraries, and to make the choices that are right for us personally," said Mikula.
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