The Rapid City Area Schools Board of Education will vote Tuesday on whether to destroy five sets of library books, two of which have been challenged as inappropriate in other school districts across the country.
The school board meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. in the council chambers of Rapid City Hall. All five book titles are listed on the school district’s surplus list as “to be destroyed” books. The excess slate will be considered as part of the council’s consent agenda, which is normally voted on without discussion, unless a council member requests that the item be removed for separate discussion and vote.
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According to the surplus list, 185 copies of “How Beautiful We Were: A Novel” by Imbolo Mbue, 35 copies of “Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic” by Alison Bechdel, 75 copies of “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky, 30 copies of “Girl, Woman, Other: A Novel” by Bernardine Evaristo, and 30 copies of “The Circle” by Dave Eggers are on the list of books to be destroyed.
According to publisher Penguin Random House’s book description, “How Beautiful We Were: A Novel” is about a “fearless young woman from a small African village (who) starts a revolution against an American oil company.” The book tells a fictional story about an African village that faces multiple deaths of village children caused by the illegal operations of a nearby American oil company.
Although it includes scenes of violence, the kidnapping of oil company officials, and insights into corruption, the book explores themes of a government or corporation repressing the underprivileged and how these people retaliate. The New York Times listed Mbue’s novel as one of the “10 Best Books of 2021”. It has also been named to best books lists by The Washington Post, Esquire, Good Housekeeping, and The Christian Science Monitor, among others.
It is unknown if the book has been challenged by other school districts, or why it is suggested to be destroyed by schools in the Rapid City area.
Caitlin Pierson, RCAS’s public information officer, said the books were removed from the reading list for English 12 class.
“Building administrators and the director of teaching, learning and innovation have agreed to this decision, based on the content of the books,” she said in a brief communicated. “Every year, some second-hand books are either destroyed or sold on pallets.”
Last Thursday, the Journal also sent an open records request to the school district for information and correspondence regarding the removal of books from school libraries. Per state law, the school district’s response time is 10 days from the initial request.
“Girl, Woman, Other: A Novel” was released in 2019 by Hamish Hamilton from the UK and Grove Atlantic from the US. It’s a fictional novel that follows 12 characters in the UK over several decades. The author, Evaristo, writes about the struggles of these very different characters – mostly black women – and includes a lesbian character, a non-binary gender character, a teacher, an investment banker, and a cleaner.
The book has received numerous literary awards.
“The Circle” was published in 2013 by Knopf and was adapted for cinema in 2017 with Tom Hanks and Emma Watson. It’s a sci-fi story of a woman who is hired to work for the world’s most powerful Internet company that develops technology to monitor society – similar to George Orwell’s “1984”. The novel contains scenes from several romances with sexual references.
The other two books on the surplus list have been the subject of controversy in several school districts across the country.
“The Perks of Being a Wallflower” was published in 1999 by Pocket Books and was made into a movie in 2012. The book’s author, Chbosky, tells the coming-of-age story of a self-proclaimed introvert – or wallflower. It tells the story of a high school freshman dealing with adolescence and some of the issues that come with growing up. It addresses drug use, sexuality, rape and mental health.
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According to the American Library Association, “Wallflower” last appeared on its 2014 list of the “10 Most Contested Books.” It was also listed as one of the most challenged books in 2004, 2006, 2007-2009, and 2013. The ALA said it was challenged because of its depiction of drugs, alcohol, smoking, homosexuality, offensive language and sexually explicit material.
“Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic”, is a 2006 illustrated comic book-style memoir by Houghton Mifflin. The author, Bechdel, tells a story about her youth and childhood – including a complex relationship with her estranged father, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts and her coming out as a lesbian.
The book was a finalist for the 2006 National Book Critics Circle Award and won several awards from LGBT groups like GLAAD, the American Library Association’s Rainbow Round Table, and the Lambda Literary Award.
According to Marshall University, socially conservative groups across the country have complained about Bechdel’s book and called for it to be removed from several school and university libraries since it was first published. The groups cited depictions of drug use, graphic sexual violence and anti-religious sentiments as their top concerns.
In 2021, a group, the Power2Parent organization, succeeded in having the book removed from the reading list of the 10th grade English class at a school in Clark County, Nevada.