To the Editor:
Sept. 20-27 is Banned Books Week (you can learn more about this event at the American Library Association’s Web site: http://www.ala.org ). In celebration of Banned Books Week, the Right to Read Coalition (R2R) of Fairfax County, Va., is announcing its formal endorsement of candidates in the November 2003 elections. These candidates have distinguished themselves and demonstrated through their words and actions that they understand the importance of free speech to our American democracy and that they will work to defend it in our public schools.
In the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors chairman race, R2R is proud to endorse Gerry Connolly. Mr. Connolly has publicly stated that he “opposes censorship” and “trusts teachers, librarians and parents to select appropriate learning materials for students.”
Mr. Connolly’s opponent in this race, Mrs. Mychele Brickner, has a long history of supporting the removal and/or restriction of books in our public-school libraries. As an at-large School Board member, she voted SEVEN times between March 2000 and June 2003 to remove and/or restrict books from school libraries, and in some cases she even voted to “prohibit their future use.”
Mrs. Brickner’s voting record and public statements make it clear that she favors imposing institutional censorship in our public-school libraries rather than trusting teachers, librarians and parents to make decisions about what is most appropriate for each individual child.
Mrs. Brickner has publicly stated that “parents who were disturbed by the content in books asked for the School Board to move these books to libraries serving older students.” The fact is that these book challenges requested complete removal of certain books from all Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) schools county-wide and/or from all FCPS schools serving a certain grade level (primarily elementary and/or middle school). These book challenges also requested that the future use of these books be prohibited in these schools. Of note, all book challenges that came before the School Board for adjudication between March 2000 and June 2003 were on books held in school library collections, not on required curriculum reading.
Mrs. Brickner also has publicly stated that she “voted to move some of these books” and that “no books were ever banned or removed from the schools.” R2R believes that this claim significantly conflicts with Mrs. Brickner’s own voting record (summarized below) as excerpted from formal minutes of School Board special session meetings, which can be found on the FCPS Web site, http://www.fcps.edu, and on the R2R Web site, http://www/right2read.org. There would have indeed been many books banned or more access restrictions placed on books in public-school libraries if Mrs. Brickner’s votes had been in the majority. Fortunately, in most cases they were not.
March 16, 2000: "Daughters of Eve" by Lois Duncan. Mrs. Brickner seconded and voted for a motion to restrict this book to high-school libraries only (motion failed and later was reconsidered and passed) and voted against a motion that this book be available in middle-school libraries (motion failed).
Feb. 13, 2001: "Druids" by Morgan Llywelyn. Even though Mrs. Brickner stated for the record that “90% of the book was fine as it dealt with historical fiction,” she voted for a motion to remove this book from all FCPS libraries (motion failed). She also voted against a motion supporting the superintendent’s recommendation to restrict the book to high-school libraries only (motion passed).
June 25, 2001: "The Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett. Mrs. Brickner made a motion to remove this book from all FCPS libraries (no vote was taken on this motion), and she also made statements that advocated its removal from suggested reading lists. She ultimately voted for a substitute motion that restricted access to the book by FCPS students in grades 10-12 only (motion passed).
April 22, 2002: "Gates of Fire" by Steven Pressfield. Mrs. Brickner advocated that middle and elementary schools be prevented from acquiring this book and that it be prevented from being included on suggested reading lists. She made and voted for a motion to restrict this book to high-school libraries only (motion failed).
March 10, 2003: "Witch Baby" by Francesca Lia Block. Mrs. Brickner made and voted for a motion to remove this book from all elementary and middle-school libraries and to prohibit its future use of the book at those schools. This motion failed – Mrs. Brickner was the only member who voted for this motion. She also voted for a substitute motion to remove this book from all elementary-school libraries and to prohibit its future use of the book at those schools (motion failed).
April 7, 2003: "How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez. Mrs. Brickner seconded and voted for a motion to restrict this book to high-school Libraries only (motion failed).
April 7, 2003: "Growing Up Chicana/o" by Tiffany Ana Lopez. Mrs. Brickner expressed concern that one story in this book “ridiculed a religion and presented it in a biased way.” When question by another member why she did not make a motion to remove or restrict the book, she said that she “did not have an issue with the rest of the book.” A striking contrast to her previous record – of note, this was soon after she announced her candidacy for Fairfax County Board of Supervisors chairman.
April 29, 2003: "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago. Mrs. Brickner was absent from this meeting. This challenge was dismissed without discussion or a vote.
April 29, 2003: "Thousand Pieces of Gold" by Ruthanne Lum McCunn. Mrs. Brickner was absent from this meeting. A motion to restrict this book to high-school libraries only failed unanimously.
June 9, 2003: "I Was a Teenage Fairy" by Francesca Lia Block. Mrs. Brickner seconded and voted for a motion to remove this book from middle-school libraries (motion failed), and she also voted FOR a substitute motion to restrict this book to students in grades seven and up (motion failed).
June 9, 2003: "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier. Mrs. Brickner seconded and voted for a motion to restrict this book to middle- and high-school libraries only (motion failed - of note, it was only available at one elementary-school library when this vote was taken).
Judy Blume, author of many “controversial” and frequently challenged books, once said, “It’s not just the books under fire now that worry me. It is the books that will never be written. The books that will never be read. And all due to the fear of censorship. As always, young readers will be the real losers.” Truer words were never spoken.
The Right to Read Coalition encourages all voters in Fairfax County to get informed about where the candidates seeking your vote stand on protecting our right to read. R2R urges you to vote for those candidates who will work to ensure the freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution are protected in our public-school libraries.
Destiny Burns
Centreville
Founding member of the Right to Read Coalition