Another day, another chilling turn of events taking place in a school board here in the United States. At this point in the political cycle, if you’re not following your local school board’s decisions, I implore you to take some time and read up on it, whether or not you have loved ones in schools. Local elections aren’t always glamorous and certainly don’t get as much screen time as they deserve, but they’re deeply important.
One example comes to us from the Spotsylvania County School Board in Livingston, Virginia, where Kirk Twigg was recently appointed to serve as the board’s new chair. This local appointment is getting national coverage because Twigg, who formerly served as a district member on the board, has infamously called for folks to ban and even burn books found in school libraries. What’s offensive about the books? Frankly, nothing. But Twigg—like a number of other conservatives waging similar battles across the nation—insists they’re “sexually explicit” and inappropriate for students. The reality is, of course, that the books overwhelmingly feature LGBTQ+ characters and characters of color. Sadly, however, Twigg isn’t the only member of this school board who wants to burn books.
With Twigg’s role as chair on the board, the school board now has a conservative majority. According to local outlet NBC Washington 4, the most recent meeting was chaotic, with Shelly not wanting to yield her physical seat to Twigg, and Twigg attempting to take it. Even the (largely symbolic) passing of the gavel held tension.
Chaos and tension are apparently nothing new at these meetings. "It has been that way for several months,” an unnamed parent who spoke at the meeting said according to the outlet. “In this moment, people are trying to shout me down, so I think people should be aware that that’s happening.”
Outgoing chair Dawn Shelley spoke out against Twigg’s new role, according to local outlet WTOP, saying he’s spoken about “confidential” human resources matters during open sessions, uses his AOL account for emails during meetings, and—what is clearly the most important detail—he “wants to burn books.”
This isn’t an exaggeration, either. Back in November, Twigg stated that he wanted to “see the books” before they’re burned so they can make sure they are “eradicating” this “bad” stuff. He added that there’s “bad, evil-related material” that they need to look for.
The starting point for Twigg’s anti-literature hysteria? A young adult novel by Adam Rapp called 33 Snowfish. The book, which was voted one of the Best Books for Young Adults by the American Library Association (ALA), chronicles the struggles of unhoused teens who are trying to escape abuse, addiction, and life challenges in their pasts. A heavy book, sure, but also one that young readers can certainly relate to. Even if it doesn’t mirror a teenager’s lived experience, it could certainly be a lesson in empathy, compassion, and an opportunity to humanize struggles and obstacles they might not face themselves.
At the same meeting back in November, Rabih Abuismail, who also serves on the school board, stressed that he thinks “we should throw those books in a fire.” He also said we “live in a world” where “public schools would rather have kids read about gay pornography than Christ.” I’ll push back on these books being pornography, but I do think it’s a fair standard that public school students needn’t read books about Christ in the school library or classroom.
The idea that these books are too explicit, too sexual, or outright pornography is not a new one when it comes to conservatives pushing anti-queer and anti-feminist agendas. Young adult books, whether novels or memoirs, tend to follow a similar set of circumstances and experiences: coming of age, growing up, first experiences in love, friendship, and readying to move to a new city or town for college or similar experience, etc.
For queer characters, these character arcs can include realizations or actions pertaining to queer identity—there’s nothing wrong or surprising about that, but what would be perfectly admissible for a cisgender, heterosexual character becomes objectionable to folks who think LGBTQ+ sexuality and expression is inherently “evil” or dangerous.
And again, this isn't just Twigg. We’ve seen a school board member in Virginia fixate on Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye in her crusade. A school district in San Antonio, Texas, got rid of 400 books, largely featuring queer characters and people of color. A school board member in Florida filed a criminal report because a book by a queer Black writer was available in school libraries. Last fall, Republican Gov. Henry McMaster of South Carolina called for the removal of a book about gender identity from school libraries and classrooms.
You can check out some local coverage on Twigg’s role on the school board below. The next school board meeting is scheduled to take place on Jan. 25, 2022.
YouTube Video
One example comes to us from the Spotsylvania County School Board in Livingston, Virginia, where Kirk Twigg was recently appointed to serve as the board’s new chair. This local appointment is getting national coverage because Twigg, who formerly served as a district member on the board, has infamously called for folks to ban and even burn books found in school libraries. What’s offensive about the books? Frankly, nothing. But Twigg—like a number of other conservatives waging similar battles across the nation—insists they’re “sexually explicit” and inappropriate for students. The reality is, of course, that the books overwhelmingly feature LGBTQ+ characters and characters of color. Sadly, however, Twigg isn’t the only member of this school board who wants to burn books.
With Twigg’s role as chair on the board, the school board now has a conservative majority. According to local outlet NBC Washington 4, the most recent meeting was chaotic, with Shelly not wanting to yield her physical seat to Twigg, and Twigg attempting to take it. Even the (largely symbolic) passing of the gavel held tension.
Chaos and tension are apparently nothing new at these meetings. "It has been that way for several months,” an unnamed parent who spoke at the meeting said according to the outlet. “In this moment, people are trying to shout me down, so I think people should be aware that that’s happening.”
Outgoing chair Dawn Shelley spoke out against Twigg’s new role, according to local outlet WTOP, saying he’s spoken about “confidential” human resources matters during open sessions, uses his AOL account for emails during meetings, and—what is clearly the most important detail—he “wants to burn books.”
This isn’t an exaggeration, either. Back in November, Twigg stated that he wanted to “see the books” before they’re burned so they can make sure they are “eradicating” this “bad” stuff. He added that there’s “bad, evil-related material” that they need to look for.
The starting point for Twigg’s anti-literature hysteria? A young adult novel by Adam Rapp called 33 Snowfish. The book, which was voted one of the Best Books for Young Adults by the American Library Association (ALA), chronicles the struggles of unhoused teens who are trying to escape abuse, addiction, and life challenges in their pasts. A heavy book, sure, but also one that young readers can certainly relate to. Even if it doesn’t mirror a teenager’s lived experience, it could certainly be a lesson in empathy, compassion, and an opportunity to humanize struggles and obstacles they might not face themselves.
At the same meeting back in November, Rabih Abuismail, who also serves on the school board, stressed that he thinks “we should throw those books in a fire.” He also said we “live in a world” where “public schools would rather have kids read about gay pornography than Christ.” I’ll push back on these books being pornography, but I do think it’s a fair standard that public school students needn’t read books about Christ in the school library or classroom.
The idea that these books are too explicit, too sexual, or outright pornography is not a new one when it comes to conservatives pushing anti-queer and anti-feminist agendas. Young adult books, whether novels or memoirs, tend to follow a similar set of circumstances and experiences: coming of age, growing up, first experiences in love, friendship, and readying to move to a new city or town for college or similar experience, etc.
For queer characters, these character arcs can include realizations or actions pertaining to queer identity—there’s nothing wrong or surprising about that, but what would be perfectly admissible for a cisgender, heterosexual character becomes objectionable to folks who think LGBTQ+ sexuality and expression is inherently “evil” or dangerous.
And again, this isn't just Twigg. We’ve seen a school board member in Virginia fixate on Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye in her crusade. A school district in San Antonio, Texas, got rid of 400 books, largely featuring queer characters and people of color. A school board member in Florida filed a criminal report because a book by a queer Black writer was available in school libraries. Last fall, Republican Gov. Henry McMaster of South Carolina called for the removal of a book about gender identity from school libraries and classrooms.
You can check out some local coverage on Twigg’s role on the school board below. The next school board meeting is scheduled to take place on Jan. 25, 2022.
YouTube Video