Devine Evans

Unreal: Florida elementary schools in Miami-Dade county are taking the book banning to new heights, this time banning the poem that was read at President Biden's inauguration by poet Amanda Gorman. How were they able to get this done at all, let alone across the entire county? *One* parent demanded that the poem be taken out of the libraries, saying it was "inappropriate" for students. In addition to Gorman's poem, the deranged parent who was able to get this done successfully also challenged four additional books: The ABCs of Black History, Cuban Kids, Countries in the News Cuba, and Love to Langston. She claimed that these books were filled with "indirect hate messages" that were inspired by critical race theory. The director of research and insight at the Florida Freedom to Read Project responded to this absolute atrocious ruling to ban the poem, and books across the state, saying that the type of books being banned show a concerted effort to target "books that address ethnicities, marginalized communities, racism or our history of racism." Should *one* parent be able to do this? Should a team of parents be able to do this? Where is the line? Who draws it? This is insane.