- Two books that include police brutality and racism as themes have drawn attention to a suburban Charleston, South Carolina high school.
The Hate U Give (HarperCollins, 2017) by Angie Thomas and All American Boys (Simon & Schuster, 2015) by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely are two out of four books that comprise a summer reading list for Wando High School students.
The Fraternal Order of Police has a problem with the list, and the police organization president, John Blackmon has called for The Hate U Give and All American Boys to be dropped.
- Authors Guild has joined the debate demanding that The Fraternal Order of Police stop “interfering in the reading selections of a high school in suburban Charleston.”
In the guild’s open letter to the police group, executive director Mary Rasenberger writes, “This interference–which is clearly based on the content of the books in question–must stop.
It is a blatant violation of students’ first amendment rights and an improper attempt at censorship by law-enforcement officials.”
Find out why The Fraternal Order of Police is in fact free “to support or oppose just about anything they desire.”
Or why a “First Amendment infringement argument could be made by or on behalf of the students” in this case.
“Just one more thing” (© Columbo):
Why aren’t there any classics on the reading list?
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Image: Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Leaving the Conservatory (La Sortie du conservatoire), 1876–1877. Oil on canvas, Overall: 73 13/16 x 46 1/4 in. (187.5 x 117.5 cm). BF862. Public Domain.
sasha a. palmer 