A Florida school has banned a fictional book about a Black boy who was killed by a white officer. According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the book, Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes, was used in a fifth-grade class at an elementary school in Coral Springs, Florida.
The Broward County Public Schools board banned the book after a police union complained to the school district, describing the story as anti-police “propaganda.”
“The timing of whether to implement this subject matter must include parents and ultimately be a decision by the parents of each student,” school board member Lori Alhadeff said about the book, which was used without going through the district’s vetting process. "I do not feel ‘Ghost Boys’ is appropriate for fifth graders.”
According to the book's summary, the story features a 12-year-old boy named Jerome, who is killed by a Chicago officer who mistakes his toy gun for a real weapon. Jerome then becomes a ghost and meets Emmett Till, who helps him process the history of racism. The 12-year-old ghost also meets Sarah, the daughter of the officer who killed him.
Paul Kempinski, director of the local Fraternal Order of Police, wrote a letter to the Broward County School Board members, saying he was upset by the friendship between the characters Sarah and Jerome. According to NBC Miami, Kempinski said he is upset because the boy "ultimately convinces [Sarah] that her father shot and killed him because her police officer father is a liar and a racist.”
“Our members feel that this book is propaganda that pushes an inaccurate and absurd stereotype of police officers in America,” Kempinski wrote.
Kingsburg Elementary Charter School District in California also removed the book from its curriculum last year after a parent complained, the National Coalition Against Censorship reported. In a letter to the Kingsburg Elementary Charter School District, the NCAC said it's very concerned about the decision to remove the book.
"Although district regulations state that a challenged book can remain in the curriculum pending resolution of a complaint, Superintendent Sever ordered the book removed immediately," the organization stated. "In addition, although District regulations permit the superintendent to appoint a committee to assess a challenged book, Dr. Sever did not do so, and instead unilaterally ordered that the book be permanently removed from the curriculum."
The group is also encouraging schools to allow varying viewpoints when making decisions about the curriculum.
"The purpose of the classroom is to address varying viewpoints, provide context, and encourage discussion," NCAC stated. "Teachers must be allowed to do their jobs. And no individual parent has the right to determine what every student in a classroom, school or district can learn."
