Hundreds Of Books With Black And LGBTQ Themes Found In Dumpster At Staten Island Elementary School

Gothamist reports:

Hundreds of new books featuring characters of color and LGBTQ+ themes were found by the trash at a Staten Island elementary school, outraging some parents and sparking an education department investigation. Gothamist obtained photos from a Brooklyn book lover that showed boxes of kids’ books left with the garbage at PS 55, known as the Henry Boehm School. Some had sticky notes on them detailing themes and content in the books

A note on “My Two Border Towns,” about a boy’s life on the United States-Mexico border, read “Our country has no room and it’s not fair.” A note on “The Derby Daredevils,” about a girls’ roller derby team, read “Not approved. Discusses dad being transgender. Teenage girls having a crush on another girl in class.” And a note on “We Are Still Here! Native American Truths Everyone Should Know” read “negative slant on white people.”

Read the full article. A book about a male mermaid bore a sticky note reading “boy questions gender.” Another book on Navajo Code Talkers was flagged “white man’s world.”

I wonder what the NYC investigation will reveal, but a dumpster full of books near a Staten Isl school, clearly marked with sticky notes about their content related to race and LGBTQ identities, sure looks like the kind of book banning across the country. https://t.co/UIkHukkM1J

— Jonathan Friedman 📚 (@jonfreadom) March 11, 2024

Books with themes of diversity found in trash outside Staten Island elementary school https://t.co/VVSCYMPxwH pic.twitter.com/uvnKGNowMP

— Eyewitness News (@ABC7NY) March 11, 2024