Conservative culture warriors have declared a new front in Lee’s Summit, Missouri.
Over two days, officials in the Lee’s Summit School District received more than 200 complaints targeting close to 60 books in school libraries, district officials told us Friday. The book challenges are not the first in the district, and surely won’t be the last. School leaders must abide by their own policies of reviewing the formal complaints — but they must reject any coordinated effort to ban books.
On Thursday, things got heated during the open comment portion of the Board of Education’s monthly meeting. Although an unruly speaker was escorted from the meeting by police without incident, the commotion did not amount to much. A local leader of a conservative group wanted to fuss about a book district leaders have regularly refused to remove from the shelves at Lee’s Summit high schools.
As Chuck Quesenberry of We the People of Jackson County — a local group known to kick up dust — read from the book “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” a LGBTQ-themed collection of coming-of-age essays by George M. Johnson, he was warned not to use profanity. Unmoved by the edict from school board President Kathryn Campbell, Quesenberry continued to read passages from the book that included a reference to male anatomy.
“It’s in the library!” someone from the crowd yelled out in support of Quesenberry. Campbell, trying to maintain order, pounded a gavel.
“Excuse me,” Campbell said. “This isn’t a discourse.” Campbell reminded the speaker he was violating board policy. Quesenberry’s provocative behavior continued until he was removed from the building by a Lee’s Summit Police officer.
There we have it, folks: political theater. And it’s a tired act.
“Last night, during public comments, a speaker began to read from a book and was asked to stop,” a spokesperson for the Lee’s Summit Police Department wrote in an email. “When he did not stop, the board asked the officer to escort the man from the meeting. The man complied and was escorted out of the building. No arrest, no charges.”
In a message on social media, we asked Quesenberry why he is opposed to certain books in Lee’s Summit Schools.
“Read the pornography in the Lee’s Summit high school libraries,” Quesenberry replied to us. “This is not political. This is right and wrong.”
Over two days, four people filed complaints against at least 57 book titles, according to district officials. Most are written for or by marginalized people. The overwhelming majority of the authors are women. Many are people of color.
Books written by members of minority groups have been the target of similar challenges nationwide, with many protests targeting the same list of titles downloaded from the internet. As of Friday, 205 complaints were on file with Lee’s Summit schools. According to district policy, a media review committee will analyze the complaints and make recommendations to the school board, which has the final say.
Attempts to reach Campbell, the school board president, were unsuccessful.
Lee’s Summit, one of very few districts in the area that has rejected demands for censorship, must stay the course. A loud, vocal minority cannot and should not speak for all students and their parents, or for district stakeholders. Students’ right to read what they choose is important. Intellectual liberty is a basic tenet of a free nation.
“All Boys Aren’t Blue” is one of the most-challenged books in America, according to the American Library Association. Twice, critics in Lee’s Summit tried to have it removed from the district’s high schools. Each time, the board voted to keep it in place. We urge the board to continue to follow the lead of its librarians and media specialists, who choose the appropriate books for all students.
