Commission passes resolution calling for removal of two books from all school libraries

Using a new Tennessee state law about “appropriate” texts in school libraries, the Sumner County Commission this week passed a resolution calling for the removal of Zetta Elliott’s A Place Inside of Me and Laurence Yep’s Dragonwings.

Here’s more from NewsBreak:

The Sumner County Commission passed a resolution at its meeting last night (11/14/22) that states that two books currently circulating in libraries in Sumner County Schools violate state law and should be removed from all libraries in the county. The move comes as the Sumner County School Board is prepared to hold a hearing on the books at a meeting this week.

The resolution states “text found in the books has examples of racism, underage drinking, foul language, violence, drugs, prostitution, alcohol, hatred of police, overthrow of the government, destruction of the nuclear family, and communism.”

The Sumner County School Board previously held a meeting on A Place Inside of Me. At that meeting, there were 5 votes to keep the book, but six are needed. Two members of the Board were absent.

The board will meet tonight (11/15) to hear discussion on the book and vote again.

A local advocacy group says the County Commission’s action was intended to influence tonight’s vote:

Local advocacy group Sumner For Good is urging citizens to show up in support of the books. The group specifically called out the Commission’s vote as a “strong arm” tactic designed to change votes on the School Board.

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