The claim
There is an allegation circulating that a school district in Texas banned, among other things, the “Diary of Anne Frank” and the Bible from libraries
Our conclusion
This is not a ban on the books (yet), but rather a re-examination based on new school district guidelines that will last no longer than 30 days. Only then will it be known which books will actually be banned and which will be back in libraries.
Three years ago, a Catholic school in the US banned all Harry Potter books because they supposedly contained real magic spells (we reported ).
Now a whole series of books are said to have been banned from a school district in Texas, including the “Diary of Anne Frank” and even the Bible. But it's not even the written diary, but a comic version that is more explicit, and the books are not banned, but checked based on applications and are not on the shelves during this period of up to 30 days.
The claim
Due to several articles that wrote in the headlines about a ban on the Anne Frank book and a “cleansing operation”, there is a lot of excitement on Twitter, and the claim is believed without being asked without any further sources and is excited:
Which books were supposedly banned
On August 16, the day before school started, Jennifer Price, the Keller Independent School District's , sent an email to the district's principals:
“Attached you will find a list of all the books that were challenged last year. All books must be removed from the library and classrooms by the end of today. Once this is done, please send me a confirmation via email. We must ensure that this measure is implemented by the end of the day. I apologize for the late request.”
Source Twitter
The short text alone sounds quite disturbing, as it doesn't make clear what it's all about, and the rush that this has to be done by the end of the day seems strange, since after all it's just books and not bombs .
In total there are over 40 books that are temporarily not available in libraries in the school district. They were by individual parents and community members , but for the most part remained in the libraries.
These include not only a comic version of the Anne Frank book , but also the Bible and several LGBTQ-friendly books such as “Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe, “So You're Being Publicly Shamed” by Jon Ronson and classics such as “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison.
Incidentally, LGBTQ-friendly books in particular will be banned from libraries as early as 2021, which is not particularly surprising in the sometimes very strictly religious state of Texas.
Why the books are being re-examined (but not yet banned!)
The list of over 40 books (see HERE ) that were criticized by parents and community members (i.e. by individual people!) in the school district in 2021 also includes the measures taken - some books were removed immediately, others remained in the libraries .
All versions of the Bible were initially left in the libraries in 2021, and the graphic adaptation of the Anne Frank diary by Ari Folman and David Polonsky also remained on the shelves until it disappeared for further review.
The review of the books involves sexually explicit content.
Back on December 9, 2021, “ The Dallas Morning News ” reported that state authorities were investigating whether the North Texas school district had “sexually explicit” books in school. This came shortly after Gov. Greg Abbott said authorities need to do more to “ keep porn away from students .”
A spokesperson for the school district told Newsweek that was challenged inappropriate content, including sexual content, violence including rape, murder, human sacrifice, misogyny, homophobia, discrimination and other inappropriate content
When it comes to a comic about the “Diary of Anne Frank,” some might wonder where there should be sexually explicit content, but only if they know the version that is often read in schools. In the complete edition, which is reproduced graphically in the comic, there are also several passages in which Anne wrote about her lesbian fantasies with her friend Jacque, her body and her relationship with Peter van Pels - which some people then apparently viewed as pornography is evaluated.
Let's summarize
- In 2021, over 40 books located in county school libraries in Texas were challenged by some parents and community members through the formal complaint process
- In late 2021, Gov. Greg Abbott urged authorities to “ keep porn away from students. ”
- With the start of the new 2022 school year, the school district in Texas introduced new guidelines
- Due to these new guidelines, all books challenged in 2021 will now be reassessed
- Therefore, these books will now be removed from libraries for a period of up to 30 days
- It's not about the book version of the Anne Frank diary, but a comic version
So it is absolutely unclear at this point whether the comic version of Anne Frank's diary or the Bible will actually no longer appear in libraries - especially as far as the Bible is concerned, it is very unlikely that it will no longer be available in God-fearing Texas.
There is currently no talk of banning the books - and if so, we will find out about it in September and report on it if necessary.
Article image: pixabay, pngwing
Also interesting:
Almost two years after Trump's false claims, social media posts claiming manipulated election results are still commonplace on the platforms.
– Lies about US election fraud still widespread
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