A Florida School Has Banned the Poem Read at Biden's Inauguration
By: Tori Otten (The New Republic)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Amanda Gorman's "The Hill We Climb" is restricted after just one parent complained about it.
A Florida school has banned the poem read at Joe Biden's inauguration after a parent complained it contained "indirect hate messages," part of a disturbing state-wide trend of blocking discussions about race and gender.
A parent of two students at the Bob Graham Education Center in Miami Lakes challenged Amanda Gorman's The Hill We Climb and four other books in March, arguing they were not age-appropriate. Bob Graham covers grades kindergarten through eight.
Daily Salinas said that The Hill We Climb, The ABCs of Black History, Cuban Kids, Countries in the News Cuba, and Love to Langston contained references to critical race theory, gender ideology, "indirect hate messages," and "indoctrination," especially of socialism. She requested they be removed from the school entirely, according to documents shared by the Florida Freedom to Read Project.
The school decided in April to restrict four of the titles, including Gorman's, to middle school students only, the Miami Heraldreported Monday. Salinas told the Herald she was not satisfied with the decision because "I don't see how these books support the curriculum." But she insisted that she "is not for eliminating or censoring any books."
This is just the latest book ban in Florida since Ron DeSantis was reelected governor in November. At least 175 books have been banned as of March, according to PEN America. The nonprofit sued one Florida school district last week over the book bans.
"The government should not foster censorship by proxy, allowing one person to decide what ideas are out of bounds for all," said Nadine Farid Johnson, counsel and managing director of PEN America Washington, in a statement regarding the lawsuit.
The Bob Graham ban has come to light after an elementary school in Pinellas County banned the movie Ruby Bridgesin March. School officials in the same county also banned high school students from reading The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison earlier this year. And in October, the Wakulla County school district decided to remove the graphic novelLittle Rock Nine from its libraries. All of these bans were enacted after just one parent complained.
Florida is increasingly restricting what can be taught in schools at all levels. DeSantis has declared war on "wokeism" and recently signed into law a measure defunding diversity, equity, and inclusion programs on college campuses. He backed the Stop Woke Act, which restricts teaching about race in colleges, announced plans to mandate Western civilization courses, and supported the expansion of "Don't Say Gay." His administration was also in close contact with the College Board as it gutted the A.P. African American Studies course.
Editor's PickRon DeSantis Wants a Referendum on "Freedom." Fine—It's a Fight He'll Lose. Most Recent PostTori Otten/May 23, 2023/4:21 p.m. ET
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The real cancel culture.
Seems there's no bottom to this pit.
I don't think we want to know what's at the bottom of the pit.
My personal opinion is that it's the souls of the books that have burned or banned
Upset that the right is finally catching up to the left? Mad because they are building off of Democrat tactics?
Restricting the books from middle school and high school students is hardly banning. Parents are free to allow their kids to read the books outside of school (Oh the pain of expecting children to do unrequired reading! The shear torture of allowing them to expand their minds and views outside of the guidance of their teachers/groomers!)
Again leftist definition of book ban. Let me know when no one is allowed to purchase the book, possess it, or read it on their own time. That is a ban. Not this drivel being put forth by perpetually aggrieved leftists.
Censorship? After what Democrats had the DOJ/FBI do during the 2020 elections with social media sites- they don't give a damn about censorship. This is all about them being butt sore that public schools might not become the indoctrination centers they envisioned.
Expecting people applying to colleges to be accepted based on their scholastic and personal merits instead of race, sex, or any other made up leftist BS standard. Oh the horror of the most qualified and driven being allowed to advance their education. With that type of program the majority of students entering college might actually be able to graduate! Only leftist loons refer to the bill as "Don't Say Gay."
DeSantis must have Democrats/leftists scared shitless for them to be launching such an all out attack before he has even entered the Republican primary.
Before the complaint, the poem was deemed acceptable for all elementary school students. Of course every 9 or 10 year old will not be interested in such poems, but some might be. It is banned for them.
The poem is not controversial, so why was it removed? I assume it is because it speaks from a person of color point of view and mentions slavery, and some right wing snowflakes have a meltdown at the sight of the word.
Really don't give a damn about the poem.
Schools should be teaching the basics. Reading, writing, mathematics, and sciences. Think the Chinese are worried about all of this extra-curricular BS that leftists love? Think they are promoting their youth to higher education based on what sex they identify as, or race, or any other measure that doesn't have to do with hard work and knowledge? No wonder they are kicking our asses economically and soon militarily.
People are free to read what they want on their own time. But that doesn't seem to be good enough for some.
Keep the political indoctrination out of schools. Which is the real reason you are pissed the poem is being kept out of schools.
When the Affordable Care Act passed rightist "loons" sneeringly called it Obamacare. You don't have a leg to stand on.
So, if you have money to buy books, you can read whatever you like. But the poor students only have access to what the Republicans want them to read.
Yeah, that makes it ok. /s
Do you understand why we have public schools and public libraries?
If you want to narrowly define what education should be, and you if have the money you seem to assume everyone has, then private schools are an option. IF!
In reading the article, it seems that these books were only banned in libraries in public schools. Can we assume that public libraries still have these books?
This is why I support school choice and school vouchers. Not all public schools are good or equal or are a good fit for the individual needs of the student so parents do need the ability to choose a better fit.
So, for the kids who need a bus just to get to school, I suppose you expect their parent to just drop work or whatever, climb into their car and drive them to the library, eh?
Do you begin to see how many assumptions you make about people?
And oh, by the way, there is a trend in conservative jurisdictions to ban books or outright defund public non-school libraries, as well.
A lot of parents do now drive their children to the public library. And children have other means to get to public libraries just like they have other means to get to the mall. I believe that kids are quite inventive and if the will is there they will find a way. All I said was that according to the posted article, they were only talking about banning some books from school libraries and not public libraries.
As far as a trend in conservative jurisdictions to ban some books, there were also progressive jurisdictions that have banned some books also. There was a big uproar over Huck Fin several years back. And try to find a copy of Song of the South, you cannot buy one in this country and you cannot check out the dvd from a public library as it's been banned. So it's not just conservatives who are trying to ban things they don't like.
If you have a problem with what they are doing I suggest you take it up with them. I'm not the one banning such books and I really don't care about it. I don't agree with completely banning books, but I do agree that there are some books that are just not appropriate for young children. For years now, stores that sold such magazines such as Playboy,etc had to have them under a cover so that small children could not see them.
Would you let an eleven year old read the Anarchist Cookbook? I wouldn't, but I wouldn't ban it from an 25 year old who should be able to think for himself.
Do you not understand that millions of families have unique challenges? Why should any of them have to be inventive and flex their will when they could just walk into the library at the public school they already attend every day? Why make it harder?
I’m not interested in banning any of it. But cherry picking the occasional item over decades pales in comparison to what is happening right now.
Just look at what is happening at this school in Florida :
They have several boxes 4 or more feet high, each filled with what looks like hundreds of books. This has gone WAY beyond anything we have seen before.
Yes. I think it could be very educational, and we could have a conversation about it. I don’t fear books because I talk to my kids.
Regardless, what I personally would allow is irrelevant. The same people who scream like insane babies about “parental choice” when it suits them now want to take choices about reading a MFing book from other kids and their parents. The hypocrisy is mind-blowing.
President Obama proudly adopted it for himself.
You don't have a leg to stand on.
When I was growing up the nearest public library was 20 miles away. I lived in a very rural area. The only library I had access to was my school library. Many families are in this same situation. A good chunk of America is still very rural. Not everyone is able to walk to a public library or get public transportation to get to one.
WTF is wrong with these people. How in the world can someone complain about that poem?
It seems the complainer called it hate speech.
How is that hate speech?
I guess because it mentions black girls and slavery and takes a veiled shot at Trump
Not age appropriate.
Why not?
Did you read the entire book this poem is a part of?
Because it's a poem about a "skinny black girl" read by a beautiful young woman of color
This is fake news.
huh?
No it isn't, but I can see how you would think that since it is really nutty.
What's nutty is people not understanding what banned means.
Next they will whine that "Catcher in the Rye" isn't available to all students no matter their age.
Never happen. It was written by a white American male. I surprised the left hasn't demanded the book be banned yet.
That's what banning is now. Every single book ever written has to be made available in every school library to every student or its banned.
Is DeSantis's book available to every student in New York? If not, why is it banned?
"The left" that immense juggernaut, rarely bans books. Because books help people think, and people who think always become "leftist".
And the author lost any credibility they might have possessed with this lie.
Florida would likely ban even the Cliff Notes version of my life.
To be completely fair, it seems the poem is still available based on age and grade. You have to be 11 or 12 before you are allowed to read it.
Well, it is at the level of a middle schooler but if you are a gifted child at age 8 then you should be allowed to read it
Of course.
A distinction without a difference.
No John. If every book ever written isn't available to every kid in every school its now banned. That's the new standard. Any attempt to put books in categories for age groups is now "banning" them. The media has created a moral panic in which words and common sense are meaningless, so let's run with it. Can't put on sex shows for minors? that's genocide! A book is put an age appropriate part of the library? Banning books just like Hitler!
Is this book available to every kindergarten student in Illinois? If not, why is your state banning it?
I'm not going to debate the technical meaning of 'banned" with you, since your whole purpose is to distract from what happened.
LOl. What do you think describing this what happened as a "banning" is? It's literally available in the library for free to kids in the library that's supposedly "banning" it.
This is insanity. You are melting down over which shelf the book is placed on in a library.
Their parents can get them a copy.
you're verging on hysteria
Lol. Can they purchase it? Are they in trouble if they read it? Can they carry a copy around?
Segregating books by age is not banning them. Every school in America does that.
No, he isn't.
He simply disagrees with some folks, so that must equate to 'hysteria'?????
How about we call it restricted instead of banned?
Yes, its completely rational to melt down over where a book is placed in a library. But hey, you can pretend to be outraged over an imaginary oppression, so it's a goo day for you.
those are his words. In my opinon I think he's getting hysterical. Nobody has to agree with me.
So do me a favor, write another comment that says the same thing you just said and we will leave it alone. Have the last word on me
who's melting down?
The concerned parents who want all this stuff "restricted" or removed are the ones who are melting down. Anybody who's scared of the woke crowd is melting down because they want every one to live the same exact way. No dissension allowed
I got my answer, just as I suspected.
Carry on!
So when a fifth grade teacher hands out books for students to read, and the fourth grade doesn't assign the same book, you consider the book restricted because it wasn't made available to fourth graders?
Much more accurate.
I applaud your choice of words.
Don't most schools restrict some books based on what age the readers are?
No I don't. Books are assigned by age appropriateness and the skill of the reader.
You did go to school, didn't you? Were your 4th and 5th grade math classes the same?
So please, if you feel the need for the last word, have one on me. I'm finished with this conversation because I'm getting bored
Sean, one parent complained for god knows what reason that the poem is not age appropriate for those below the sixth grade. On the basis of this one complaint the poem has been removed from the shelves for 5th grade and under.
What is it in that poem that would offend anyone? There is no bad language, no sexual content, no subversive messaging.
There are white people in this country who do not want their children exposed to ANYTHING that refers to the racial history of our country, and this appears to be exactly what has happened here.
Hate messaging? To a white grievance addled bigot, maybe.
Oh lordy, she mentioned slavery. Get that off the shelves before our impressionable 9 and 10 year olds get contaminated by such radical thinking. /s
Thank you for admitting I'm correct. This is how every school in the country operates, and claiming that constitutes book banning or restricting is silly.
This is one poem in a book. I haven't read the book so I can't speak to the contents of every page. Have you?
At least she admits that she was being used as a token by a white democrat president.
You have a somewhat perverse imagination. She wont be eligible to run for president until 2036, making your comment irrelevant.
So even the headline is a lie.
Explain what you mean by "even".
the headline is false.
the author further excaberated things by lying about some mythical "Don't Say Gay" nonsense.
I hope that suffices
Do you know what "so-called" means ?
Florida board approves expansion of ‘don’t say gay’ ban to all …
Web Florida’s board of education has approved the expansion of the state’s so-called “ don’t say gay ” bill, which now prohibits discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity at ...
kind of interesting that you had to go find another source instead of quoting from the seeded article, which conveniently leaves out 'so called'.
my statement stands correctly.
since you were kind enough to look for a source that supported your claim, this is the least I can do:
BTW, that's from the seeded article.
so-called is assumed. you need to broaden your media intake
well I am sure you know what happens when you assume.
why on earth would anyone assume that when liberals and much of the media has been lying since day one about that law?
"so-called" is a widely used term. i'm surprised you are not familiar with it.
I am quite familiar with it.
I just don't assume facts not in evidence.
Look, YOU asked for more info and I provided it.
I apologize if it wasn't what you wanted to hear.
we're done
that's nice.
Oh, that is good news!
I guess it wasn't banned as the article says after all.
Personally I am all for age appropriate books being in the correct section of the library but this in particular book is not the hill I would fight for. If the little kids want it I am sure they could get it. Do you really believe this is something little kids would search out?
I find all this a bit funny. Tropic of Cancer was required reading for me as a freshman in high school, and it was a catholic high school. I believe the class was about censorship since the book was banned for years after it came out. I guess we were against censorship in the 70's.
Gotta ask, what is your criteria for "age appropriate:" books?
No hard rules on that. It is more case by case. Has more to do with what an individual kid can handle. That is where i think the parents come in. But movie like ratings are not a bad start. Some parents let their kids see pg13 movies when they are 10 and some don't. I also think there is a difference between what is in a library that kids would have to specifically look for and what is taught in school that they and their parents would have no choice about. As for the specific poem in question there is nothing there I would have felt the need to shelter my kids from. I am not sure a young kid would not have lost focus by the third line. It represents the authors perspective, nothing more and nothing less.
You have to feel sorry for the children of the stupid woman who complained about the poem.
Sadly, one parent is able to make a choice that eliminates the remaining parents from making a choice.
If she doesn't want her kid to read the book, fine with me. Taking that choice away from all the parents is BS.
No, one parent isn’t
1 complaint led a Florida school to restrict access to Amanda Gorman's famous poem
Didn't even need to go to NPR...it's in the seeded article
I know but some people seem to be incapable of reading the seeded article and have to inject their own interpretation of events so it's best to give them a multiple choice to try to ignore.
I wish I could puke on some one's shoes thru the keyboard
Do you not understand what happened.
The book was switched shelves in the library because school administrators decided that's where it was a better fit.
A parent didn't make that choice. Pay attention.
But for one parent complaining none of this would have happened. The school administrators didn't just wake up one morning and decide to move that book to another section.
"Pay attention" indeed.
The parent didn't cause anything to happen. The school decided the book was more appropriately placed on a different shelf. The school decided some of the books were appropriately placed and some weren't and thus the school caused the book containing the poem to be moved.
That's exactly how things should happen and how schools do it in every state in the country. So many progressives are so well trained now that they hear Florida and they lose the ability to think and just mindlessly lash out. Imagine arguing school officials should ignore their better judgment to stick it to parents.
No matter how much you want to twist it, spin it or curl it up into a corkscrew the fact remains:
But for one parent complaining none of this would have happened.
Not sure why you insist on calling it complaining. A concerned parent learned of it and brought it to the school's attention. They in turn realized that perhaps something should be done and they took action that they thought was appropriate. If it were only one parent complaining, I doubt that they school would have done anything. But since a possibly ugly situation may have been iminent, they saw that perhaps they needed to think a lot of things through.
But it was the school that made the choice to move the book, realizing the parent was correct. The school made the choice, not the parent. Where the school disagreed, the book was not moved and stayed on the same shelf. The parents have no control or power.
That’s how the system works, the school controls which shelf a book is placed on. The parent doesn’t.
That is obvious to most everyone but some of our resident right wingers.
I know, right...
But they didn't ban it as is being touted. According to your own comment at 8.1.2 they "restricted access". Not the same. Not anywhere NEAR the same. Kind of like Playboy and Hustler magazines being high on the rack at the magazine stand............................
In Liberal La La Land, restricting and banning are synonyms, I guess.
Sure appears that way, anyways.
That explains a lot.......................You really shouldn't be so hard on yourself.
[Deleted]
[ Deleted ]
The law that is discussed is HB 1467 — formally called the "K-12 Education" measure which allows a parent to object to a book (s) in a school or library if they object the book is removed and has to be reviewed at a later date. More recently this house bill was approved.
Per Florida HB147 and HB 1069 a filed objection. Thus one objection would restrict the book and it has been done on a number of occasions in Florida.
This book was not restricted. How do you not understand that?
It was moved to a different shelf. It's been available to every student the whole time.
Don't you get mad that you were so easily manipulated?
From your previous link. There are conditions ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ and nothing says once the objection is resolved it cannot be put back. It isn't willy nilly "I just don't like this book" by any means.
From the article:
It would seem that you are easily manipulated or unable to comprehend the English language or behind door number three, a partisan hack that tries to sell a losing argument.
According to Ana Rhodes, a spokesperson for Miami-Dade County Public Schools, the school staff moved the book from the elementary school section of the media center to the middle school section. To read the book, an elementary school student would now have to request it from a media specialist and prove they read at a middle school level.
Otherwise, their access to the book is restricted.
Bolding is mine.
There are multiple articles from all variety of media ideologies that are using the same term, "restricted". Why is this so difficult for you ?
They moved them to the middle school level and DO they support the curriculum?
Restricted from elementary school students with loopholes. WTF is wrong with that?
The actual school says its remains available to all students. Why is that so difficult for you to understand?
Maybe you should pay attention and stop regurgitating reporting that's already been proven false?
I didn't say it couldn't be put back, what the hell are you arguing anyhow?
No the "actual school" said it is restricted...
To read the book, an elementary school student would now have to request it from a media specialist and prove they read at a middle school level.
Otherwise, their access to the book is restricted.
Simply regurgitating the truth that the book was restricted, any of the BS you're trying to pawn off as fact is simply your inability to face the fact you have no idea what you're talking about.
Cheers.
I hope you don't fall down from backpaddling so quickly:
It was banned!
That's wrong, but it was on put on a restricted list!
So, that's wrong. but t was restricted from elementary kids!
So, that's wrong, but it was restricted form some elementary kids!.
So, all kids had access to it, but...fill in the blank with the next retreat to pretend to be outraged over a completely normal process.
I never said it was banned. Show me anywhere I said that the book was banned.
I've only been reiterating the fact that the book has been restricted. You've been insisting that it was not in fact restricted and you're flat out wrong.
You, and others here, have made it sound like it was going to be forever gone from existence. Drama!!! Exaggeration! Virtue signaling the victim card on behalf of someone else. Did I miss anything?
So we have a parent, one parent all by herself, apparently linked to the Oathtakers seditionists... who decides which books are appropriate for which kids.
And you're good with that...
Wow.
Everyone has a voice and opinion Bob. That opinion was expressed. Those affected by that opinion took the measures they deemed necessary when it was brought up. You are blaming the person with the opinion for the reaction of others. That is the only thing I am good with. Fact remains, doesn't matter if it was one or a thousand, the onus belongs on the shoulders of those who took the action after having it brought to their attention. The decision was ultimately on them NOT the person who brought it up.
Wow indeed....................
That mother has a right to her opinion... OF COURSE!
She does not - SHOULD NOT - have the power to unilaterally decide which books are appropriate... for the whole damned school!
Duh... FUCKING DUH!
How hard it is to understand These facts?
1. A parent doesn’t decide the appropriateness of any book, the school does. In this case, the SCHOOL, Decided this book was more appropriate for kids at a junior high level, not elementary and simply switched its location on the shelves.
2. This particular book that so many people lied about being banned remains available to all kids in the school, even elementary kids.
Hi, Sean. Just a reminder: I will never discuss anything with you because it is a complete waste of time and energy.
I'll remind you once in a while if needed.
Get the basic facts of the story correct and I wouldn't have to point out that you are spreading misinformation.
She didn't. She doesn't have the power to do that. The fucking school made that decision. Get it? The damned SCHOOL made that decision.
Duh fucking Duh indeed.
I can't control your vivid [imagination] if that when you read into it, that's on you. There is nowhere that I said such a thing.
It seems that you missed the whole point, [Deleted]
Wow indeed.
If this story wasn't' part of the the plan to keep up constant anger at DeSantis and Florida among low information consumers of left wing news, it's pretty obvious this is how the system should work.
Parents can voice their opinion about the suitability of a book. Do people want to argue parents have no rights to offer their opinion?
The School decides whether there is any validity to the complaint and can take action, or not, as it sees fit.
Also, on a semi related note, isn't insulting for a supposedly serious poet's works to be considered age appropriate for second graders? Is she that bad of a poet and her works are so simple a second grader would profit from reading them? Dr. Suess is the level or "poetry" that small kids can handle. And this poet is offended the school thinks her work is actually slightly more complicated at a 12 year old level?
I'm locking this article due to the truly incessant whining from conservatives on this seed that dispute whether or not the schools action constitutes "banning" or merely "restriction". Very few, if any, conservative comments on this seed have addressed WHAT HAPPENED, namely that a harmless poem was taken off some school library shelves because it dared mention race in the context of slavery. One parent, seemingly upset that her children might be subjected to the words of a "skinny black girl descended from slaves", made a formal complaint which the school board acted upon.
Thats what happened. This poem has no aspects or language that cannot be understood by 9 or 10 year olds, and maybe even a few younger kids. It is not obscene, unpatriotic, or subversive. Nor does it raise one race up over the others.
This case shows exactly what is wrong with Florida's new laws that affect schools and teachers.
The constant whining on this seed is an awesome sight, though not in a good way.
(1) IT wasn't even restricted, as we know now.
(2) Serious poems (if she is a serious poet) are more suited for kids who can read than those who are learning.
I'm going to allow a little while for people who want to to have a last word, and then it's going out of commission.
You are embarrassing yourself on this article, in my opinion.
And there is the crux of the whole thing in a nutshell. It wasn't the woman who made the decision. It was the fucking school board PERIOD. She just brought it up. They could have told her to pound sand.....................
John you seeded an article that was a lie. There's no debating that. Every news organization that covered this story has spent the last few days rewriting their initial claims to bring them closer to reality (and still falling short). You seed misinformation that your entire side fell for hook, line and sinker, and you think I'm embarrassing myself?
No one can argue with the process the school undertook. No one can argue with the result, unless you think serious poems are best left in the section for little kids. Do you think the elementary area of the library includes Tennyson? Or Shelley? Do you think third graders profit from reading Whitman?
The only argument you have is that this poet's writing is so juvenile and simplistic that the library made a mistake thinking it was advanced enough for junior high kids.
They did not.
Florida.
Of course they can . by the way, the only reason I am not showing more examples of "major news sources" referring to this as a banning is because there would be no end to it
Amanda Gorman’s inauguration poem banned by Florida …
Web 1 day ago · FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A poem written for President Joe Biden’s inauguration has been placed on a restricted list at a South Florida elementary school after one parent’s complaint. In ...
Amanda Gorman's poem for Biden's inauguration banned by …
Web 1 day ago · The Associated Press. MIAMI -- A poem written for President Joe Biden 's inauguration has been placed on a restricted list at a South Florida elementary school …
Amanda Gorman's poem for Biden's inauguration banned by …
Web 1 day ago · May 24, 2023 at 12:25 p.m. EDT. FILE - American poet Amanda Gorman recites a poem during the Inauguration of U.S. President Joe Biden at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. …
From your very first link as well as the second in the body of the article. The headline, as has been pointed out, is wrong! What don't you understand about "placed on a restricted list"? Embellishing the story through the headline gets clicks and is mis/disinformation usually defined as bullshit.
What was the motivation for the mother to complain about the poem? Was she afraid that 8, 9, or 10 year olds would be unable to understand the words? I dont see any words in it that cannot be understood by those age groups. No, the mother was offended that the school was giving space to the specific viewpoint of a black girl.
Thats is what matters in this incident, not all this other nonsense.
Exactly
Non responsive comments like that are why I am going to lock this seed.
You cant dispute the core of what happened so you try to divert.
So you are saying that the whole of the school board agreed with her? I know your proclivity to put everything in the context of racism and it is old, tired, and boring as hell.
Non responsive? WTF are you kidding? Or trying to..............
Thank you for pointing out that some are still lying. Besides the obvious lies that the book was banned, Your first link claims there is a "restricted list" which also never existed. The other two have now changed headlines from your link and no longer claim it was "banned." Headlines changing by the minute.
Per the school, the book remains available to all students. Why does new organizations lying about that make you feel better? Do you begin to understand why trust in media has dropped so precipitously since media has dropped any pretense at objectivity or or honesty?
Interesting you believe poets like Whitman are best placed in the areas of libraries dedicated to small kids. You want to discourage older kids from reading serious poetry I guess. Odd.
Who cares? IS that your argument now? Parents have no right to request a review of materials?
You can't argue process. You can't argue result. So now it's just racism. As always.
A while back I watched a CBS News online documentary about the critical race theory controversy. In that video is an interview with the head of the group Moms For Liberty in Virginia. In that interview she admits that she does not want "race" being taught to her 8 year old daughter in school. She says her daughter is too young to understand racism.
These suburban moms want to protect their children from the truth, so they can protect themselves from the embarrassment of having taken part in a social system that has "othered" entire groups of people , based on the color of their skin, over generations.
Its not about critical race theory, it is about denial.
When Amanda Gorman read her poem The Hill We Climb at President Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021, she was an instant sensation . The raw but hopeful tone of her work was made even more poignant, it seemed, by her youth; at 22, she was the youngest person ever to share their work at a presidential inauguration. But now, the poem’s message of unity and healing is one many students in Miami-Dade County will not be able to access at school: Gorman’s poem was banned, effectively, from grade school readers at Bob Graham Education Center in Miami Lakes after one parent filed a complaint.
Incidentally those pages read...
We’ve braved the belly of the beast.
We’ve learned that quite isn’t always peace,
And the norms and notions of what “just is”
Isn’t always justice.
And yet the dawn is ours before we knew it.
Somehow we do it.
Somehow, we’ve weathered and witnessed
A nation that isn’t broken, but simply
unfinished.
“I am gutted,” Gorman responded on Twitter. “I wrote The Hill We Climb so that all young people could see themselves in historical moment. Ever since, I’ve received countless letters and videos from children inspired by The Hill We Climb to write their own poems. Robbing children of the chance to find their voices in literature is a violation of their right to free thought and free speech.”
To understand how this was allowed to happen in the first place, one must understand a slew of new laws that have fundamentally shifted the way public education works in the state of Florida. Under the banner of “Parents’ Rights,” Florida Republicans have promoted a number of bills, including HB 1557 (frequently referred to as “Don’t Say Gay” ) and HB 7 ( Stop W.O.K.E.) to limit what could be taught or discussed in Florida classrooms, taking particular aim about books and other materials pertaining to race, gender, sexuality, social justice, and social-emotional learning.
In March 2022, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB 1467 . This law not only limits the scope of materials permitted in a classroom, but asserts that materials can only be approved by a trained media specialist, usually a school librarian, prompting some schools to have teachers’ make their personal classroom libraries inaccessible until all books had been “vetted,” lest they run afoul of the law.
The law also states that a list of all materials must be available to the public, as well as a form that could challenge any materials as inappropriate. This form — which the law states must be readily available and easy to read — can be filed with the district by anyone in the district, whether or not they have a child in the schools.
While the book was not, as the complainant suggested, banned from the school (a point Miami-Dade Schools was keen to point out on Twitter ) they were relegated to the school’s middle school section (Bob Graham Education Center runs from kindergarten to eighth grade). The same fate befell The ABCs of Black History , Cuban Kids , and Love to Langston, all of which are intended for grade school readers.
While the books have not been officially banned, PEN America notes that 566 books in Florida have either been banned in schools or classrooms, or are de facto banned pending further investigation.
Banned or just restricted as is the story behind this one?
threadreaderapp.com /thread/1661078713411223563.html
Yesterday the @MiamiHerald published an article on Miami Lakes parent Daily Salinas who challenged several books such as The ABCs of Black History.
But what they didn’t report & we will reveal is Salinas’ ties to far-right groups like M4L & open support of the Proud Boys . 🧵 1/
While we are glad that @MiamiHerald is highlighting book censorship in schools locally, their coverage here shows an ongoing pattern of failing to do the most basic research & reporting on the players & politics behind local school board politics. 2/
miamiherald.com/news/local/edu…
A quick look through the social media of Miami parent Daily Salinas who filed the book challenge would show she’s activist w far-right group Moms for Liberty.
But also her support for the Proud Boys + antisemitic “Protocols of the Elders of Zion” conspiracy content. 3/
In this video from a Miami school board meeting in July 2022 we can see Daily Salinas together with other members of Moms for Liberty disrupting the meeting with shouts and interjections. Police nearly escorted her out of the meeting. 4/
But there’s more…
Miami book banning parent Daily Salinas also attended a Proud Boy organized rally in Hialeah in November 2022 in support of white supremacist Marco Rubio canvasser Christopher Monzon, who falsely claimed he was beaten for political reasons. 5/
Not only did Daily Salinas attend the Proud Boy organized rally in support of Rubio canvasser Christopher Monzon, previously arrested for attacking protesters with a confederate flag, she was also captured alongside his close supporters when he was released from the hospital. 5/
In addition to being active with Moms for Liberty at the Miami school board, book banning parent Daily Salinas has also been active with Christian nationalist group CCDF. 6/
More here: kbindependent.org/2022/10/26/far…
And surprising absolutely no one book banning parent and far-right Proud Boy supporter Daily Salinas was active in campaigning for DeSantis backed Miami Dade candidate Roberto Alfonso @RobertoAlonsoFL who currently holds a seat on the Miami school board. 7/
Be sure to read the alt-text for extra details.
You will find that we also documented Daily Salinas attending an anti-mask protest in August 2021 outside the Miami school board organized by a Proud Boy front group.
Here Salinas is alongside Proud Boy leader Enrique Tarrio. 8/
Not only did Daily Salinas attend the Hialeah Proud Boy rally for a white supremacist, but her + husband Alberto Rego, RBT who has previously worked as a behavioral therapist in Miami — marched into a local neighborhood to intimidate family members related to the incident. 9/
Here’s Alberto Rego, husband of Miami book banning parent Daily Salinas, alado attending an August 2021 anti-mask protest outside the school board alongside the Proud Boys. 10/
Bonus content:
Daily Salinas reposting conspiracy content on Madonna from QAnon influencer Natly Denise and made up stuff on antifa. 11/
As we’ve posted times before:
If you attend Proud Boy rallies and roll with Moms for Liberty and similar groups to school board meetings, prepare to have your name and face forever posted on the internet for the world to see.
Daily Salinas just found out. Salud! #FAFO 12/
Con mucho, mucho amor @threadreaderapp unroll and make a permanent archive of this post.
Oh and in case you’re thrown off, for social media Daily Salinas uses “Daily Rego” the last name of her husband Alberto Rego.
Anyone notice noticed this made up post on “A.N.T.I.F.A” by Miami book banner parent Daily Salinas?
Extra funny considering she got made famous after being outed by real antifa.
There’s always more… here’s Miami book banner parent & far-right activist Daily Salinas and her now banned YouTube channel “Hablando Como Las Locas” with co-host Maylin Villalonga and their guest Miami QAnon maven and “christo-fascist” Isabella Rodriguez aka #RedPillBabe .
MORE: Miami book banning parent Daily Salinas hosted a Spanish YouTube podcast called “Hablando Como Los Locos” which posted an episode with the caption “Learn more about Kanye West, his polemic, his message” on Dec 5, 2022 the same week he praised Hitler and posted a swastika.
Daily Salinas co-hosted “Hablando Como Los Locos” together with far-right activist and former Hialeah city council candidate Maylin Villalonga.
Recent postings by co-host Maylin show that the channel was recently banned after 50 videos and building up 3,000 subscribers.
We also captured the “Hablandos Como Los Locos” account commenting in the live chat of another YouTube @TeamYouTube “Mostly Peaceful Latinas” on the subject of Ye / Kanye West which was filled with antisemitic euphemisms like “(((They))) proved Kanye’s point” and “the J-word.”
Who cares? Do Hispanic women not have the right to offer their opinion?
The school made the decision. Whatever the motive of the complaint, IT WAS THE PROFESSIONALS AT THE SCHOOL, who decided which shelf to place the book on. Not the woman.
Unless you think these poems are so simplistic that kids learning to read are the target audience, then you have no ground to stand on.
I am gutted,”
she should be if she thinks her poetry is so basic and simple that third graders are the best audience for it. Arguing to have your books shelved in the section with stories about talking mice and the adventures of frog and toad rather than among the books for kids who've mastered basic literacy is one of the bigger self owns I've seen. .
Here is a photo of Daily Salinas with members of Michael Flynn's QAnon related christian nationalist group CCDF
These teachers and librarians are afraid of losing their jobs.
Anything to support that theory? I have not seen anyone coming forward to suggest that other than you.
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Per Florida HB147 and HB 1069 a filed objection. Thus one objection would restrict the book and it has been done on a number of occasions in Florida.
The headline says the poem was banned at a school but fails to prove it.
Shoddy journalism.
Well it is The New Republic so...............................
While I applaud parents getting more involved with their kids education I believe complaining about what shelf a particular book is put on is silly. School and public libraries have been making decisions about this for years. There is a difference between what is in the library and what is actually taught to students. It is just not worth the outrage unless people just want to be outraged. Just as getting all outraged about people getting outraged seems a waste of time and energy. People need to find better hobbies.