Canby middle school students can no longer access “Out of Darkness,” a novel by Ashley Hope Pérez, at school.
The novel exploring themes of family, segregation, racism and overcoming adversity now resides solely in the Canby High School library. It is one of 35 books two parents challenged in the Canby School District, resulting in the district removing it from shelves last spring.
The challenges led to protests, a review process and reactions from advocacy groups. The big sticking point for advocates is how the district handled the review process; it temporarily removed all of the books from circulation until the review process concluded.
The ACLU of Oregon and Parents Defending Schools and Libraries, or PDSAL, intervened in the name of the First Amendment and contacted the school district. Fight for the First, another nationwide group, worked with PDSAL, gathering signatures from community members in Canby to petition the district.
Although the district returned almost all of the books to library shelves before the start of this school year, PDSAL, Fight for the First and ACLU of Oregon are not satisfied with the outcome. Removing, labeling and restricting access to books amounts to censorship, according to these groups.
The district permanently removed “Lolita” by Vladimir Nabokov, restricted access to five additional books and placed “content alerts” on five others.
Kristen Wohlers, Canby School District communications director, has been in recent contact with ACLU of Oregon. She said the district will not unilaterally remove books from libraries during the review process in the future.
ACLU of Oregon and what happened with the books
ACLU of Oregon and PDSAL sent a records request to the Canby School District, asking for more transparency in their review process Oct. 5. They also asked for circulation records indicating the demand for certain challenged books.
“The ACLU of Oregon and PDSAL believe the district is obligated to notify the public about its decisions and provide an opportunity for interested members of the public to be heard regarding those decisions,” the letter stated in part.
Advocates argue the lack of communication and book removals run afoul of the First Amendment. The books were missing during the last few months of the school year, although the review process did use Oregon School Libraries standards for evaluating materials, according to district officials.
The Canby School District designated Danielle Reynolds, director of teaching and learning, and Michelle Wilson, assistant superintendent, to facilitate a review committee. Teachers, administrators, community members and parents served on the committee of 33 people, each reading three randomly chosen books and reporting their findings about content.
“In total, four groups of nine reviewed 35 books,” May 23 review committee meeting minutes state. “Members had time to read reviews and discuss the content in question for each book. Following discussions about the titles, the committee took action on each title to either continue use, restrict the use, or have no further use. If the decision was to restrict the use, further discussion and action followed regarding the restriction options to add a content alert or restrict the use to specific grade levels.”
The district’s policy calls for discretion on whether to remove books while being reconsidered, Wohlers said, adding the committee was careful to do it fairly and do it right.
In contrast to this attention to detail, the two parents who challenged the books admitted to not reading most of them and made decisions from just a few pages or online reviews, CanbyFirst.com reported in April. Their complaints included promiscuity, nudity, violence and drug use. They referred to parts as “pornographic.”
The results of the book review include restricting three books from the “A Court of Thorns and Roses” series by Sarah J. Maas to 11th and 12th grade. The committee added a content alert to “The Handmaid’s Tale: A Graphic Novel” by Margaret Atwood and restricted it to 11th and 12th graders. “Out of Darkness” by Ashley Hope Pérez is now only available to high school students. These books have all been frequently challenged because of what some consider sexually explicit content.
The committee also added content alerts to “Fade” by Lisa McMann, “The Nowhere Girls” by Amy Reed, “Impulse” by Ellen Hopkins and “Monday’s Not Coming” by Tiffany Jackson. The content alerts for violence, sexual content, drug use and suicide are inside the cover of each book.
The committee reported its review decision to the superintendent, who informed the board, the complainants and involved community members early in the summer. However, ACLU of Oregon has requested more detailed information so people can understand why some books were restricted, what options they have if they disagree and what a content alert looks like.
Kelly Simon, ACLU of Oregon’s legal director, has a few concerns about the process but said the district has been responsive.
“Throughout this process and always, we have remained committed to open dialogue,” Wohlers said. “I'll add that since the ACLU made their request, I have had great personal conversations with leaders at both the ACLU and the OLA.”
The national ACLU reaches across states to protect First Amendment rights and follows cases like the one in Canby. The organization has a presence in Oregon when book challenges take place, and they work with other anti-censorship groups.
PDSAL
PDSAL became a nonprofit in Oregon in June, founded by Darin Stewart, Oregon Library Association, or OLA, Intellectual Freedom Committee ex-officio member. The PDSAL board representatives come from school, public and state libraries, and they work with the OLA Intellectual Freedom Committee as well as the ACLU, EveryLibrary and other organizations. Having a partnership with Fight for the First gives PDSAL a wide social media platform so they can raise awareness.
Getting the word out is a priority in working against a nationwide network of book challenging groups circulating lists of books by LGBTQIA+ authors and people of color. Although smaller in number, these groups reach school boards and parents.
“The number of folks opposing censorship vastly outnumber those wanting to challenge books,” Stewart said. “(American Library Association) and PEN America surveys have found that 71% of voters, across parties, oppose book bans.”
PDSAL provides some basic services. One is an alert through social media when books are challenged. Anyone can sign up for alerts on the PDSAL website to be notified by ZIP code if a challenge or ban is reported.
“We have the means to raise an alarm and sound an alarm,” Stewart said.
Another service PDSAL offers is to promote inclusive library collections. This is accomplished through grant money, donations and a partnership with Penguin Random House Books.
“There’s not just an interest in these books,” Stewart said. “These are kids who are trying to figure out some big questions and understand the world as it is and not the world they’ve been told about or have experienced.”
In the ongoing petition to the Canby School Board with over 500 signatures, PDSAL, along with Fight for the First, asks for the district to return books to libraries and for the board to consistently adhere to its own established policies. They also ask the district to eliminate warning and advisory labels applied to materials based on content in the form of content alerts.
“A warning label based on your value judgment dissuades people from reading it,” Stewart said. “It’s better than hiding books but still censorship. The main issue was pulling books from circulation prior to review.”
Fight for the First
Fight for the First was developed a few years ago as a communication platform by EveryLibrary, a nonprofit national organization. EveryLibrary can place ads through social media and reach people through targeted lists, building on their knowledge of receptive library supporters.
Fight for the First is a free tool for people to use when there’s a book ban in their area, Erica Findley, Fight for the First treasurer, said. It started when they saw a great need for people to get the word out about what was happening in communities with book bans.
John Chastka, EveryLibrary member, remembers when Fight for the First started in Oregon and has been following the evolving book events in Canby.
“We're a political action committee for libraries,” Chastka said. “We've been helping local groups of folks who are opposed to censorship in schools and public libraries now for almost two years. We help set up either local public library alliances or local school library coalitions, and we love to be able to work with existing organizations like the Parents Defending Schools and Libraries group in Oregon.
“We're able to help people who want to take action.”
Fight for the First helps people who want to attend board meetings and get involved in the name of the First Amendment. It looks for a reasonable approach to putting those books back on the shelves and removing labels. Working with local stakeholders and parents, the group helps them to think it through together, Chastka said.
The goal of Fight for the First, according to Chastka, is to help communities be prepared for possible book challenges rather than being in a position to react to the removal of books.
“People look at it in terms of attacks on the First Amendment,” Chastka said. “They also know that the kids’ First Amendment rights don’t end at the schoolhouse door. We’re happy to help provide that platform in organizing support.”
Speaking out
The Canby School District library events are an example of what is happening all over the country, though on a smaller scale. A few parents challenging a long list of books is common practice for groups seeking to ban books.
Of the 35 books in Canby, seven are on the American Library Association’s list of 13 Most Challenged Books in America. These seven are challenged because they are claimed to be sexually explicit or depict drug use.
The challengers’ concerns were taken seriously through the district review, but the voices of many protestors, educators and anti-censorship groups were united. What resulted seems to be a compromise.
“We have a choice of what goes in school libraries,” Wohlers said. “We care very much about educational freedom and kids being able to choose what they read.”
Anti-censorship groups believe this freedom applies to all children. It is so important for children to see themselves in books, Stewart said.
“We’re not here to demonize the district,” Simon said. “We need to ensure that they accommodate all students’ rights to information. The ACLU will hold districts accountable if they fail to protect students’ rights.”
As a former high school teacher, Pérez, author of “Out of Darkness,” said students want to read books about people like themselves and not have topics sugar-coated. With “Out of Darkness” in the top-10 challenged books in the United States, Pérez has spoken out against book bans.
In September 2022, PEN America, an organization that protects the freedom of written expression, interviewed Pérez. In the interview, Pérez commented on her purpose in writing the book.
“It comes from a place of wanting to honor and bring attention to stories that have often been silenced,” Pérez said.
Editor's note: This story previously contained an incorrect number of restricted books. The correct number of restricted books is five. Street Roots regrets this error.
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