To Randolph County Board of Education, Let us start this letter with the understanding that we respect the right of any parent to choose what he or she deems appropriate reading material for his or her child. We also applaud parents who are involved in their child’s education. But we, the members of the Randolph County NAACP, disagree with the banning of the book The Invisible Man and strongly recommend lifting the band on the American Classic The Invisible Man. We find it very offensive that you would even consider such a move as to ban a book of this stature. This brings us to the question, have you read the book? If so, did you understand the meaning the author is trying to convey to his readers? What is even harder to comprehend is your literary review of Mr. Ellison’s book. “It was a hard read,” said board chair Tommy McDonald, who voted in favor of the ban and board member Mason said, “I didn’t find any literary value.” You have a right to your opinion, but we don’t think any of you qualify as book critics. You were elected to be representatives of the entire community, to be stewards of the district’s resources, leaders of the county school districts, and to advocate for public education. Why would you jump at the chance to ban a book that has won some of the most prestigious awards the literary world has to offer, the National Book Award upon its 1952 publication and a place on the Modern Library’s list of the 100 best novels of the twentieth century? It makes us wonder if any of you who voted in favor of the ban had a chance to read the First Amendment to the Constitution or did you find it a hard read or of no literary value? We also find it very discouraging that you did not listen to your advisory boards. What are they there for? Now you want to make another decision without public comment at your meeting. What will you base this decision on? We don’t find this encouraging. You should want to hear from the people who elected you to such an important office, one that allows you to make decisions for the children of the Randolph County School System. But this should not be surprising to anyone coming from a group that is as narrow minded as the current one. I hope you realize that elections are coming and we are watching. Donald Matthews Randolph County NAACP President
Posted on: Wed, 25 Sep 2013 02:34:57 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015