12 | NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 

PURELY COMMENTARY

essay
Schools Are Using 
Anti-Critical Race 
Theory Laws to Ban 
Children’s Literature 
I

n the battle over the false 
idea that Critical Race 
Theory is “infiltrating” our 
K-12 schools — and the belief 
that it must be stopped — the 
new frontier is children’s lit-
erature. 
Critical race theory (CRT), 
taught primarily in higher 
education and law school, 
is the study of how laws 
and policies can drive and 
perpetuate racial disparities 
and inequities. Even though 
Critical Race Theory is not 
taught in K-12 schools, it is 
being attacked and subse-
quently banned by many state 
legislatures to score political 
points, using misinformation 
and fear to drive a wedge 
between people. 
The intention of these 
state measures is to limit 
and prevent teachers from 
discussing sexism, racism 
and other forms of systemic 
oppression. It is troublesome 
because teachers should be 
encouraged to teach about 
those important concepts — 
through social studies, liter-
ature and other parts of the 
curriculum. 

BOOK CHALLENGES 
AND BANS 
Challenging and banning chil-
dren’s books is unfortunately 
nothing new. The American 
Library Association has a 
website focused on book 

banning and there’s an annu-
al Banned Books Week that 
celebrates the freedom to 
read. This current ban-
ning trend is particularly 
concerning because it is 
targeted and specific. Parents, 
schools and districts are using 
the new state bans against 
CRT to justify banning books 
that help students understand 
the impact of racism and 
systemic discrimination and 
oppression. And there is a 
ripple effect even in states 
without these laws. 
A group of parents in 
Tennessee are trying to get 
dozens of books removed. 
The list includes a book 
written by and about Ruby 
Bridges, the first Black child 
to attend and desegregate an 
all-white elementary school in 
1960 in New Orleans. 
Tennessee’s state law lim-
its how teachers can discuss 
racism and sexism and these 
Williamson County parents 
objected to the teaching 
of the picture book, Ruby 
Bridges Goes to School. The 
parents complained about the 
book because it mentions a 
“large crowd of angry white 
people who didn’t want Black 
children in a white school” 
and the book doesn’t offer 
redemption at the end. 
One ripple effect of the 
CRT debate was exemplified 
in Plainedge, New York — 

where there is no anti-CRT 
law. A group of parents 
objected to Front Desk being 
read aloud in their child’s 
classroom, stating it was a 
“CRT-recommended novel” 
and demanded it not be 
read. Front Desk is an award-
winning middle grade chapter 
book written by New York 
Times bestselling author Kelly 
Yang. Front Desk is about a 
young girl who staffs the front 
desk of the motel where her 
parents live and work. 
The book shares immig-
ration narratives, reflecting 
on the harm of poverty and 
bias and the triumph of them 
working together to overcome 
it. After some pushback, the 
book was not banned — at 
least temporarily — but par-
ents were given the option to 
“opt out” of reading it, and 
several chose to opt out. 
In the Houston suburb of 
Katy, Texas, an online parent 
petition led to the cancellation 
of an appearance by Newbery 
award-winning author and 
illustrator Jerry Craft. Parents 
alleged that Craft’s books 
promote “critical race theory.” 
His graphic novels, New 
Kid and Class Act, tell the story 
of two Black young people 
navigating their worlds at 

home and in their private 
school where they are among 
the few students of color. The 
books explore issues of identi-
ty, diversity and belonging. In 
addition to canceling Craft’s 
presentation, his books were 
“temporarily” removed and 
are currently under review. 
In Southlake, Texas, a 
school district already so 
embroiled in controversies 
about race and racism that 
there is an NBC News podcast 
series about it, has their own 
book-banning controversy. 
The Carroll Independent 
School District in Southlake 
recently announced new 
districtwide rules about 
books that teachers can use in 
their classrooms. 
The district provides train-
ing and instructions for 
removing books that don’t 
meet the new standards. As 
teachers began taking stock of 
their classroom libraries, one 
teacher said she would have 
to remove Separate is Never 
Equal from her collection. 
This is a picture book based 
on the real-life story of Sylvia 
Mendez and her family, 
who fought to end school 
segregation in California in 
the 1940s. 
It is also disturbing to 

ADL.ORG/BLOG

