Story at a glance
- A Missouri school district is rescinding its decision to ban Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye.”
- The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Missouri earlier this month filed a lawsuit on behalf of two unnamed students who are minors.
- At the time the lawsuit was filed, the district had reportedly removed “eight critically acclaimed books” from its library shelves.
A Missouri school district is rescinding its decision to ban Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye” amid a lawsuit filed by two students.
The Wentzville School District Board of Education voted 5-2 late last week to overturn its decision, while then voting 5-1 to retain the book after a parental challenge.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Missouri earlier this month filed a lawsuit on behalf of two unnamed students who are minors. The class action lawsuit alleges the district removed eight books, including Morrison’s, because they disagreed with the “diversity of ideas and minority viewpoints, including with respect to race, gender, and sexual identity.”
At the time the lawsuit was filed, the district had reportedly removed “eight critically acclaimed books” from its library shelves: “The Bluest Eye,” by Toni Morrison; “Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic Paperback,” by Alison Bechdel; “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” by George M. Johnson; “Heavy: An American Memoir,” by Kiese Laymon; “Lawn Boy,” by Jonathan Evison; “Gabi, A Girl in Pieces,” by Isabel Quintero; “Modern Romance,” by Aziz Ansari; and “Invisible Girl,” by Lisa Jewell.
The board has since voted to retain Quintero’s work.
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“This is welcome news, but the fact remains that six books are still banned. And Wentzville’s policies still make it easy for any community member to force any book from the shelves even when they shamelessly target books by and about communities of color, LGBTQ people and other marginalized groups,” Anthony Rothert, Director of Integrated Advocacy of ACLU of Missouri, said in a statement.
“Access to The Bluest Eye was taken from students for three months just because a community member did not think they should have access to Toni Morrison’s story.”
Changing America has reached out to Wentzville School district for comment.
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