When celebrated Black children’s author and illustrator Jerry Craft received a message months ago saying some of his books were being pulled from a school library in Texas, he was caught off-guard.
“I felt bad for the kids because I know how much they love ‘New Kid’ and ‘Class Act.’ I know what my school visits do. … I felt bad if there was going to be some kids that would not be able to take advantage of that,” the Newbery Medal-winning author of the 2019 graphic novel told NBCBLK.
The person who sent Craft the message is from Katy, Texas, a town near Houston that has been in the news recently for its attempts to limit children’s access to books that teach them about racism.
Last October, the Katy Independent School District made headlines for temporarily removing two of Craft’s popular books from school libraries and “postponing” his virtual visit to speak.
A since-deleted petition which garnered more than 400 signatures called for Craft’s virtual visit to be canceled outright.
Craft’s books tell the stories of Black boys who experience racism in schools.
“Apparently, I’m teaching critical race theory,” Craft tweeted in response to a parent who was confused about the ban, citing the decades-old academic and legal framework that teaches about America’s history with racism.
Craft is one of many black authors who is feeling the brunt of their work being pulled from school libraries under the pretext that it’s teaching children critical race theory.
Deborah Caldwell-Stone, the director of the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom, said many of the challenges against these books are driven by social media and target stories about people of color.
“We’re disheartened that there is this organized campaign to remove the voices of marginalized communities from the shelves of school libraries,” Caldwell-Stone said. “We’re particularly disheartened that elected officials who do have a duty to uphold the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are pressing forward with efforts to remove these books, as well,” she continued.
More than half of book challenges in the U.S. are initiated by parents and patrons, compared to the 1 percent of challenges undertaken by students, the ALA reported.
“Using censorship as a tool is a denial of that liberty, particularly the liberty of the young people who are targeted by these book bans,” Caldwell-Stone said.
