D205 Censored “American Street”: Here’s What to Do
Whether you live in Elmhurst or not, there are several actions you can take to counteract this regressive step.
“Censorship is the removal or suppression of words, images or ideas thought to be unacceptable by those with the power to ban them.”
—National Coalition Against Censorship
What happened?
In March 2023, York freshman English teachers proposed the book “American Street” by Ibi Zoboi for inclusion as a required reading beginning in the 2023-2024 school year (the book had been previously approved as a “choice” text by the board in 2019). Following an established process, the book was put on display for the public, and community members had an opportunity to submit “concerns, suggestions, or complaints” via a Google form for one month. Usually, after the one month period, the board will vote on the proposal. In “American Street’s” case, after a few days’ worth of feedback, the district decided to pull the proposal in order to review comments and reconsider what to do. To summarize the negative comments, book challengers accused the teachers of being groomers and pedophiles. In contrast, established organizations such as School Library Journal and Kirkus Reviews consider “American Street” to be appropriate for high schoolers, and tout the literary, artistic, and educational value of the book.
Despite numerous parents with current or future York students speaking up and writing emails to the district on behalf of teachers’ expertise and diverse books, the administration and board finalized on June 13 the decision to include only excerpts from “American Street” in the freshman curriculum. This decision undermines the teaching profession and creates a harmful environment for teachers, students, and community members. To be clear, the concern is not just about this one specific book being redacted, but a process that elevated the voices of ultra-conservative public education disruptors above the wisdom of teachers and the majority of community members. Of note, the district has a procedure for parents who wish to exempt their own child from particular instruction. But as a result of this “American Street” process and decision, a few community members have made an educational decision impacting all York freshmen for years to come.
What can you do?
While there are serious concerns about what this censorship precedent means for any other material that the fringe group finds objectionable, there is also a specific loss of a full book experience and a harm to an author and a community of potential readers. Excerpts from “American Street” will be photocopied for students (with permission from the publisher) while the full book will not be made available in the school bookstore. Therefore, these actions are recommended:
Watch Ibi Zoboi speak on this very topic of banning and censorship.
Buy this banned book! It’s available on Amazon or Semicolon (Chicago’s largest Black woman-owned bookstore & gallery). Gift and share it with all of the readers in your life. Bonus: send voicesd205@gmail.com pictures of your book (paper or ebook) wherever you’re enjoying it. This newsletter will celebrate the book and its readers in a future post. Reading this book, especially in Elmhurst, is a great action to take.
It’s also important to continue witnessing and communicating with the board. To that end, this newsletter wants to thank and celebrate the Elmhurst League of Women Voters. This group observes D205 board meetings, helping ensure rules of order are followed and producing Observer Reports. And while the district itself streams regular board meetings on YouTube, the LWV has stepped in to livestream committee meetings via Facebook. Without watchdog groups like the LWV, censorship and book banning might happen behind closed doors. Therefore, these actions are recommended:
Support the work of the Elmhurst League of Women Voters with a donation.
And lastly:
Nudge your friends to subscribe to this free newsletter, to stay on top of future censorship matters in Elmhurst.