Toni Morrison’s ‘The Bluest Eye’ pulled from Cobb County schools over content concerns
TheGrio...
“The Bluest Eye” joins a list of books removed by Cobb County schools following library reviews.
Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye” has been removed from the schools in Georgia’s Cobb County District. Earlier this month, Superintendent Chris Ragsdale updated the Board and community about the District’s ongoing book review process and labeled the book inappropriate because of sexually explicit material not suitable for children. According to the school district’s website, the school media centers routinely review and update their collections. This is the first text to be removed this calendar year.
In its reasoning, the Cobb County District cited “The Bluest Eye,” pages 161-163, which details the rape of an 11-year-old girl by her father.
“The words speak for themselves,” explained Superintendent Ragsdale during a Cobb County Board of Education meeting. During the session, he read the explicit text out loud.
“Both as a father and as a superintendent, I think about a parent having to explain to their sixth-grade daughter after she encounters explicit descriptions of child incest and rape in a book provided at school, without parents’ knowledge. As the superintendent responsible for the instruction of 100,000 students, I do not have the luxury of making that decision for other parents and their children.”
Superintendent Ragsdale finished his remarks by saying, “Effective immediately, and in every Cobb County school, children will not have access to this sexually explicit description of the planned murder, rape, and incest of a child. The words speak for themselves.”
As described on the Cobb County District website, the book review process bans all literature with sexually explicit material. Parents of students enrolled in the district can request reconsideration of a library resource, first with the principal and then, if unresolved, via the School Library Media Committee, with an appeal path to the District Library Media Committee. Additionally, district staff may flag a title for review.
While “The Bluest Eye” is currently banned, other Morrison works remain available for students to read without interference. Texts banned by the Cobb County District in recent years include “American Psycho,” written by Bret Easton Ellis; “This Book Is Gay” by Juno Dawson; “All Boy’s Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson; and “Thirteen Reasons Why” by Jay Asher.