海角大神

Deliliah Neff knows Nixa, the southwestern Missouri city where she is growing up, has some cultural limitations.

Located in 海角大神 County, the city has roughly 24,000 residents, who are overwhelmingly white. So the 17-year-old has turned to literature to fill in those gaps. But a book she is currently reading 鈥� 鈥淎ll Boys Aren鈥檛 Blue,鈥� a series of personal essays about race and LGBTQ+ issues by George M. Johnson 鈥� no longer lives on the shelves of her high school library. She received it as a Christmas gift.

鈥淗earing about these stories from authors of color, it鈥檚 really important for me, especially because when I go to college, I want to leave Nixa and venture out,鈥� she says.

The Nixa School Board voted to remove it last year. Since then, other books have been pulled or restricted, but not without pushback from the community鈥檚 teenage readers. Nixa Students Against Book Restrictions (SABR), a grassroots-style group, has rallied to keep its school library鈥檚 collection intact.

Fueled largely by parental demands and new state legislation, school book bans increased 28% during the first semester of the 2022-23 academic year compared with the prior six months, according to an analysis by PEN America, a group promoting free expression. Many of the challenged titles are written by or about people of color or those within the LGBTQ+ community, or address race, racism, gender, or sexuality.

In response, California lawmakers are considering a bill that would require a two-thirds majority vote from a school board or governing body before banning any instructional materials, textbooks, or curriculum.

The situation has inspired the latest iteration of youth activism, drawing students to school board meetings and peaceful protests, where they have advocated for their right to read a diverse set of books. They鈥檙e offering a counternarrative to discussions that, in many places, have featured hostile exchanges between adults against the backdrop of broader culture wars.聽

For them, it has been less about entering the fray and more about amplifying student perspective.

鈥淭hese are the books that are in our schools and our libraries,鈥� says Thomasina Brown, a senior at Nixa High School and member of Nixa SABR. 鈥淎nd we felt that we weren鈥檛 being heard.鈥�

鈥淎 step in the right direction鈥�

Upperclassmen started the group when book challenges made their way to Nixa during the 2021-22 school year, and now, students including Deliliah聽and Thomasina聽are carrying it forward. The group leaders regularly post on an Instagram account, letting fellow students know about upcoming board meetings, school board elections, and ways to address book bans. Among the recommendations: creating free little libraries, forming book clubs, and, of course, attending board meetings.

The movement is entirely student-led, in part because they鈥檙e hesitant to ask a teacher to serve as an adviser.聽

鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to put them in a position where they have to tell us no, even if they do agree with us,鈥� Thomasina, who is 16, says.

Last year, Missouri legislators passed a law that includes an amendment putting school librarians and educators at risk of criminal prosecution if they provide 鈥渆xplicit sexual material鈥� to a student.聽Nixa鈥檚 school board president, Joshua Roberts, says staff members flagged several books for evaluation because of the new state law. The other book challenges came from parents or community members.

Despite the students鈥� efforts, the school board in June voted to remove three books (鈥淏lankets鈥� by Craig Thompson; 鈥淪omething Happened in Our Town鈥� by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, and Ann Hazzard; and a graphic novel adaptation of 鈥淭he Handmaid鈥檚 Tale鈥� by Margaret Atwood) and restrict two more by requiring parental permission (鈥淟ucky鈥� by Alice Sebold and 鈥淓mpire of Storms鈥� by Sarah Maas).

A parent who spoke at the June meeting in support of removing certain books said they 鈥渃ontain obscene, sexually explicit content or provoke racial division,鈥� according to a report from the Springfield News-Leader.

The board also decided to retain 鈥淢aus,鈥� the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel by Art Spiegelman, without restrictions. It did the same for 鈥淯npregnant鈥� by Jenni Hendriks and Ted Caplan after board members could not reach a majority vote in June and again in July.

When board members explained why they voted a certain way, they cited some of the points made by students. Thomasina聽considered that progress and a sign of more civil dialogue.

鈥淚t took a while for that to actually happen, but it felt like a step in the right direction,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e aren鈥檛 being completely seen or maybe understood, but at least we鈥檙e being heard to some extent.鈥�

Preserving a path to empathy

The Panther Anti-Racist Union (PARU), a student group at Central York High School in Pennsylvania, persuaded its school board to go a step further: The board overturned a ban on several books in the school library and created a new policy, which allows parents to bar their own children from reading certain books without revoking them for the entire student body.

It was the second time the board has reversed course on such a decision. About two years earlier, also under pressure from students, the board undid a ban on resource materials about diversity and racial justice that staff members had gathered following the murder of George Floyd.

Mandy Wang, who is 17 and a PARU member, says students rallied outside the high school for weeks and also attended school board meetings. A concern for future generations fueled her motivation: She wants to ensure that her 6-year-old brother can continue reading books by diverse authors and learn about other communities and cultures as a result.

鈥淲ith reading,鈥� she says, 鈥測ou become better at showing empathy and being able to empathize.鈥�

Fellow PARU member, 15-year-old Brezlyn Koller, considers the policy change a fair compromise because it doesn鈥檛 take away other students鈥� rights to read a book. One of her favorite novels, 鈥淧ush鈥� by Sapphire, tells the story of a 16-year-old girl who has been abused and sexually assaulted. Brezlyn understands the subject matter may not be easy for others to digest.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a hard story to read, and it鈥檚 not for everyone,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut that doesn鈥檛 mean you can just take it out of a library.鈥�

Ben Hodge and Patricia A. Jackson, who teach at Central York High School and serve as faculty advisers for PARU, credit their students with setting and controlling the narrative, dispelling misinformation along the way. Their advice to students: Keep at it.

鈥淚鈥檓 always saying to the kids that it鈥檚 good to be vigilant in the turbulent times,鈥� Ms. Jackson says. 鈥淏ut you have to be equally as vigilant in the quiet times.鈥�

Throughout the history of the United States, youth activism has injected energy, exuberance, and optimism into social movements, which have helped sustain and keep them going, says Matthew Diemer, a professor of education and psychology at the University of Michigan. He sees opportunities for students to band together and form coalitions around their shared interests.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 important to be active at the local level, but perhaps that can coalesce into something more regional or national,鈥� he says.

Students at every board meeting聽

Back in Nixa, the school board wants students to be a permanent fixture at every board meeting going forward, says Mr. Roberts, the elected body鈥檚 president. This school year, a student representative from the high school 鈥撀燾hosen without input from the board 鈥� will have dedicated speaking time at each meeting. Students can also continue to speak during the public comment periods.聽

Mr. Roberts says the students, unlike some adults who engaged in name-calling and other unruly behavior, brought a calming, mature presence to the discussions.

鈥淭here was zero hostility that came out of the students,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey were perfect. They always have been.鈥�

Deliliah聽expects additional book challenges this school year, so she鈥檚 gearing up for more activism. Until then, she is focused on finishing聽鈥淎ll Boys Aren鈥檛 Blue.鈥�

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a really good book,鈥� she says, 鈥渁nd there are a lot of life lessons in there.鈥�