A picture book about LGBTQ-rights hero Harvey Milk is gaining support among parents and others after some parents in Hanover County, Virginia, objected to it being read in a second-grade classroom. The teacher had read the book after one child in the class was called “gay” in a negative way.
Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag
Another parent, Culley Burleson, objected to this, and wrote to the principal. Burleson told Yahoo Lifestyle, “There’s a level of maturity and comprehension involved in a conversation about sexuality — straight or gay — and the content isn’t age-appropriate.” ABC affiliate WRIC reports that Burleson worried that the book caused her daughter “to question her faith, it caused her to know what homosexuality is.”
Once again, for the people in the back: Telling children that gay people exist doesn’t require talking about sex. Children of same-sex parents, for example, know from birth that there are same-sex couples who love each other. They don’t need to know about sex until much later, just like any other children.
Yahoo Lifestyle adds, however, that Burleson has been to a “Drag queen brunch” at a gay bar and “discourages using religion as an excuse to hate.” Her objection to the book doesn’t seem to stem, therefore, from a hatred of LGBTQ people, but rather a misunderstanding of how to explain us. Part of her discomfort, too, seems not just with sex and sexuality, but with the fact that she will now have to explain to her daughter that sometimes, religion is used as a reason for hate. Burleson particularly objected to the illustration of Milk in front of a crowd of protesters who are holding signs saying “gays must go” and “God says no.” She told WRIC, “That image was enough for my daughter to come home and question why God would hate anyone he created. She has been told her entire life God doesn’t hate anyone, love everyone[,] if you don’t understand something about someone pray for them, ask questions.”
The lesson that religion can be used for hate is a tough one indeed, but one that is unfortunately part of our world’s history. I don’t think it’s age inappropriate simply to say (if you’re a believer) that sometimes, people haven’t understood that God wants people to love each other, so they act like God wants something else. That both explains the pictures in the book and supports belief in a God who loves all.
Unfortunately, Principal Terri Keck has seemed to back Burleson’s objections. Keck responded with a letter to parents saying they should have been notified about the book before it was read, per the district’s policy on controversial or sensitive material. The book “was not vetted through the appropriate process at our school,” she said, and “It is also not a part of our curriculum.”
Other parents have called or e-mailed the district both in support of and against the book. One noted, “This book is not about sex or sexuality, nor does it have violent content. It is a book about identity history and human rights,” according to the Times-Dispatch.
This week, too, the National Coalition Against Censorship, consisting of 57 national not-for-profit organizations, weighed in with a letter to the superintendent, noting “While parents can choose books for their own children based on personal beliefs, public educators have a constitutional responsibility not to make viewpoint-based decisions.” Additionally, they say, the book did not require parental approval because it met curricular standards and school behavioral objectives: “In addition to telling an important civil rights history and promoting civic engagement, this important book teaches values enshrined in the Hanover County Code of Conduct, like ‘recognizing the importance of the dignity and worth of each individual’ and ‘contributing to a climate of mutual respect for all.’”
Challenges to LGBTQ children’s books are all too frequent. Yet I do think it worth our while to dig into the objections in order to address them. Sometimes, that means explaining that the book doesn’t contain sex; other times, it may mean helping parents discuss difficult topics (like religiously motivated hate) with their children. It’s tiring and yes, in an ideal world we shouldn’t have to do this. Kudos to all of those who are nevertheless doing so and working to help make our less-than-ideal world—and classrooms—more inclusive and welcoming to all.
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