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Alabama community rallies around author after school district cancels Black History Month event

“How many teachers want those students to be able to have that opportunity to see themselves reflected in the people that we bring in?”

Alabama community rallies behind author after school district cancels his Black History Month event.

There's something special about having a book read to you by the actual author. It means a lot to adults, so one can only imagine how children feel when they find out that the person preparing to read them a story is the person who wrote it. It's a small piece of childhood magic that never really goes away.

That's exactly the treat that several classrooms were primed to get when award-winning children's book author Derrick Barnes was scheduled to read to students at three schools in the Hoover City Schools public school district near Birmingham, Alabama. It's an event that was inquired about back in April 2022, nearly a full year in advance to ensure the author would be available for February. But just days before the start of Black History Month, the superintendent of Hoover City Schools abruptly canceled the scheduled readings.

The cancellation came as a surprise to Barnes, his team, as well as the parents and teachers within Hoover City Schools. The superintendent of the school district, Dee Fowler, cited one parent's concerns about the visits and the author's "controversial ideas." Fowler also stated there were contract issues, according to CNN.

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Judy Blume tells it like it is when it comes to books and censorship.

Judy Blume's actions speak louder than words when asked how she feels about banning books.

In June, author and all-around American treasure Judy Blume spoke at Washington, D.C.'s Politics & Prose bookstore.

Blume was there promoting her latest novel "In the Unlikely Event," but her nearly hour-long conversation with NPR's Linda Holmes was an entertaining, career-spanning sit-down.

One of the interview's most interesting portions touched on the topic of "banned books," something Blume knows all too well, having been the target of censorship efforts ("Forever," "Blubber," "Deenie," "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret," and "Tiger Eyes"). She was asked if it hurt for people to say her books were bad for kids.

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