Trustees of the Arlington (Tex.) Independent School District unanimously ruled in favor of keeping the Vietnam War novel Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers in junior high school libraries at a specially called September 28 meeting attended by dozens of residents. Citing the recent U.S. District Court ruling that censorship by petition is unconstitutional, Trustee Jim Ash said, “There is no wiggle room. . . . We are created to uphold the law.”
Local parent Donna Harkreader had asked that the book be removed from library shelves in April, citing its use of strong language and graphic violence as too disturbing for younger students. But Boles Junior High librarian Sandra Cope turned down her request, a decision later upheld by school and administrative committees as well as Superintendent Mac Bernd, according to the September 28 Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The petition was referred to school trustees for a final verdict.
Harkreader, who has an eighth-grader at Boles Junior High, has challenged three other books this year, including Robert Cormier’s We All Fall Down, which was restricted by Bernd in March.
Posted October 2, 2000.