By Delayna Earley
The Island News
Almost a year after Beaufort County wrapped up its own book review process in reviewing books that some in the community deemed inappropriate for school libraries, the South Carolina Board of Education has voted to ban its first seven books.
Even though Beaufort County community members, educators and parents participated in a review process that lasted longer than a year and cost more than $7,000 to decide if 97 books that were submitted as in appropriate, a new rule allows the state to remove books with descriptions of sexual conduct from public schools in S.C.
The board decided unanimously on Tuesday, Nov. 5, to ban the books “Damsel” by Elana K. Arnold, “Ugly Love” by Colleen Hoover, “Normal People” by Sally Rooney and four books by Sarah J. Maas.
Of the seven books banned by the board, five had previously been reviewed and returned to school libraries in Beaufort County – Damsel and the four books by Sarah J. Maas.
The committee reviewed 11 books total and decided that three of the books – “1984” by George Orwell, “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee and “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare – would not be banned and one book – “Crank” by Ellen Hopkins – was postponed to be reviewed on a later day.
Claire Bennett, who is a co-mentor to DAYLO in Beaufort County, said, “DAYLO continues to have concerns about the regulation’s broad language, the Board’s willingness to overturn the decisions of communities like Beaufort that have reviewed and returned many of these books to circulation, and of course, the impact this will have on students.”
Bennett continued to say that as an organization, they trust the trained school librarians of the state to curate school library collections, and they trust students and their families to choose their own reading materials.
USC Beaufort DAYLO chapter founding president Mickie Thompson echoed those sentiments in public comments before the Instructional Materials Review Committee.
“I’m angry. I’m scared. But I won’t be silent, and I won’t back down,” said Thompson. “That’s something that ‘Damsel’ and books like it taught me … Support your students and their right to read. Leave ‘Damsel’ in high school libraries where it belongs, and censorship does not.”
Candace Bruder, spokesperson for the Beaufort County School District (BCSD) said that the district is mandated to follow the law, despite the decision that had originally been made regarding the books in Beaufort County.
Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.
