Bluffton, SC Bookseller Fights Local School Board Book Ban

from Sally Sue Lavigne, The Storybook Shoppe

The last two weeks have been at times troubling, infuriating, and heartbreaking. The School Board in Beaufort County South Carolina has pulled 97 books from their library shelves on the complaint of a concerned parent. While any book being pulled from a school library is troubling, what makes this situation distressingly problematic is that the district did not follow its policy for removing books. At the time the books were pulled from shelves, the Board had not received the paperwork describing why each book was being challenged. There is some discrepancy on whether the correct paperwork was filed. The complainant asserts that an email was sent containing the forms, however the district officials were "consulting IT" to see if the email was received. The board did amend the review policy to allow books to be pulled for review based on exigent circumstances.

The school board is now forming 15 committees to review the books. These committees will be composed of administrators, teachers, media specialists, a parent from the school community who is not the complainant, a member of the school improvement council, and members of the community.

The complainant claimed ratings of the books were pulled from BookLooks.org A cursory search of the organization reveals that it is affiliated with members of Moms for Liberty.

More troubling is that the complainant has posted on Facebook, recruiting others to challenge the books in their school districts across the entire state of South Carolina.

It is my belief that all children have the right to find themselves and their challenges reflected on the pages of a book. I find this list extremely disturbing as many of the books have protagonists that are black, brown, or LGBT+, and are dealing with issues of racism and gender bias that reflect the reality of many of our neighbors and friends. We as a society read to know we are not alone. I fear that if children are not able to access books where they feel seen, understood and comforted, that their sense of isolation and marginalization may ultimately lead to self or community harm.

I feel it is my responsibility to defend the rights of students to access diverse books. Booksellers hold the trust of their communities to champion literature. I have applied to serve on a review committee to be part of the process. I am communicating, sharing information, supporting teachers, and encouraging the community to voice their opinion. This is easily the greatest challenge of my bookselling career.

The Kids Right to Read Project and the ACLU have both been in contact with the Beaufort County School Board. If anyone has questions, or guidance on how to proceed please reach out to me at sallysue@thestorybookshoppe.com

Sally Sue Lavigne, Owner
The Storybook Shoppe