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The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –
While liberals decry the book reviews that the Wilson County School Board has overseen since April 2022, the district’s high school libraries have fewer books on political topics that espouse a conservative viewpoint.
A search across all of the county’s high school libraries found 21 books about President Barack Obama, and 21 books about President Bill Clinton, compared to 15 books about President George Bush, and 11 books about President Donald Trump. The county had 4 books pertaining to former Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg compared to 2 for Justice Clarence Thomas.
A more one-sided perspective in high school libraries is not endemic to Tennessee with non-progressive memoirs being hard to find in many school districts.
Of the 29 books with explicit content in Wilson County that members of the community have challenged so far, only 6 have been removed by the school board. The rest of the challenged books were added to the mature reading list which parents must opt students into for them to gain access.
The books removed from the district are “Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic” by Alison Bechdel, “Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts)” by L.C. Rosen, “Tricks” by Ellen Hopkins, “Infandous” and “Damsel” by Elana K. Arnold, “The Handmaid’s Tale: The Graphic Novel” by Margaret Atwood.
“Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic” has controversial religious commentary, profanity, alcohol use, sexual activities and nudity, commentary about suicide, and ideologies about alternate sexuality and gender. BookLooks rated it 4 out of 5, Not for Minors.
“Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts)” was rated 5 out of 5 for Aberrant Content that includes “aberrant sexual activities; sexual nudity; alternate sexualities; alternate gender ideologies; controversial social commentary; excessive/frequent profanity; and alcohol and drug use by minors.”
“Tricks” also was rated 5 out of 5 for sexually explicit scenes that involve minors including explicit child rape. The book also depicts illegal drug abuse; underage alcohol consumption; and adult and child prostitution.
“Infandous” and “Damsel” were both rated 4 out of 5. Both depict explicit sexual activity.
“The Handmaid’s Tale: The Graphic Novel” also received a Not for Minors rating of 4 out of 5 containing explicit sexual activities and sexual nudity.
When Moms for Liberty – Wilson County Chair Amanda Price met with the principal of Green Hill High School in regard to the lack of balanced representation of conservative voices, she was accused of trying to shut down the school’s GLSEN club.
Wilson County has a policy in place to support the balance of different points of view in materials accessible to students. During their meeting, Principal Dawson did acknowledge that a bulk package that was ordered from Follett did appear to exclude conservative viewpoints.
About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative.
You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.