Huntsville, Alabama, school board member James Dawson has called for the removal of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor and Marvin Redpost: Is He a Girl? by Louis Sachar from elementary-school libraries. Dawson referred to both titles as “trashy trash,” according to a December 20 Associated Press report.
Dawson’s action is in support of parent challenges to the material. Complainant Jennifer Harris, who is white, objected to the use of the word “nigger” in Roll of Thunder, the 1977 Newbery Award winner that depicts Depression-era bigotry in the South. A separate complaint was filed at Chapman Elementary School against Is He a Girl? the story of a boy who finds himself longing to play hopscotch and don dresses.
School-board member Scott Erwin disagreed with Dawson at a December 16 board meeting. “I think you’ve got to be careful when you start banning books,” Erwin cautioned.
Dawson has asked his colleagues to discuss the titles at a January 7 work session.
Posted December 27, 1999.