By Jen Maravegias | Politics | October 16, 2023
The phrase “there is no ethical consumption under capitalism” ran through my mind more than a few times over the weekend as I watched the drama unfold around Scholastic’s questionable decision to make “diversity” an opt-in for schools placing book fair orders. While that phrase is not 100% relevant to this situation, it definitely seems like Scholastic has allowed itself to be steamrolled by the terrible, dynamic duo of capitalism and racism that continues to drive this country off of a cliff.
Here are some facts to consider:
According to the American Library Association there were 1,269 demands to censor or ban books in 2022. That’s almost double the 729 challenges reported in 2021, and it’s the highest number of challenges in the ALA’s recording history.
A Washington Post report from earlier this year found that only ELEVEN people were responsible for 60% of book challenges in the 2021-22 school year.
Regardless of how small this particular squeaky wheel is, according to the press release Scholastic put out on Friday, there are laws or pending legislation in more than 30 states prohibiting certain sorts of books and stories in schools. This means that even if Scholastic provided unfettered access to those types of books, mostly about LGBTQIA+ lives and those that address our country’s history of racism, schools in those states would be breaking the law by making them available for purchase during book fairs.
Scholastic should send the same veritable rainbow of titles and subjects to schools in Florida as they do to schools in New York City, right? Their “Share Every Story, Celebrate Every Voice” collection includes books about Martin Luther King Jr., Bobby Kennedy (not his loser son), Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, as well as titles like “All Are Welcome” and “All Are Neighbors.” Let’s force the teachers and administrators at individual schools to defend our kids’ right to read these types of books.
Yes, but is forcing the Departments of Education in many states to fire teachers and administrators they see as “woke” really going to help the situation? Or is it more likely that those folks will lose their jobs and be replaced by people more willing to tow the state line on diversity issues?
Scholastic has the market cornered on the very lucrative business of school book fairs. Iole Lucchese, Chair of the Board, Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer, and President of Scholastic Entertainment, has an estimated personal net worth of $3.51 million. The company itself has an estimated net worth of $1.15 billion as of last week. Its CEO, Peter Warwick, has collected a total compensation of $3,300,361 in 2023 so far. People with this kind of money, at the helm of companies worth this much, don’t do things that will jeopardize that money. In a more ideal world, Scholastic would use its corporate power to fight back against the legislation in those states where book banners are running amok. They would speak out, like Disney did with Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill. I’m still waiting to see how Disney’s actions stopped Florida from passing bigoted, anti-LGBTQ laws.
It would make us all feel good if Scholastic took a firm stand against the tide of hate rising in this country. In an era where school board meetings are being overrun by vocal, and sometimes violent, community members, public librarians are receiving death threats over how they curate the books available on their shelves, bomb threats are being called into school districts over book ban debates and Moms For Liberty is a fast-spreading anti-government extremist group leading the charge we need a strong voice to oppose these measures. But it’s a mistake to expect a corporation to take a stance that may affect their bottom line.
Scholastic could fund private book fairs where they make all of their “Share Every Story, Celebrate Every Voice” titles available to kids in those states. I can already see the protestors lining up for those events. Schools and PTAs can select alternative vendors for book fairs (they do exist), harnessing the power of the free market to show Scholastic that they don’t approve of this move. But none of those things are going to solve the underlying problem.
We’ll have to bail ourselves out of this one, parents. Oppose book bans at your school, and oppose legislation that supports book bans. Don’t vote for politicians who are pushing book bans. Campaign for “woke” politicians who support diversity starting at the most local levels, or even get yourself elected to your school board.
Here’s the full text of Scholastic’s statement
A MESSAGE FROM SCHOLASTIC ON U.S. BOOK FAIRS
Scholastic provides diverse titles to every Book Fair.
There have been a number of misconceptions that we want to clarify about how we have created a path to host Scholastic Book Fairs, even as schools and educators in the U.S. navigate restrictions imposed on them by state legislation and local policy. The biggest misconception is that Scholastic Book Fairs is putting all diverse titles into one optional case. This is not true, in any school, in any location we serve.
There is now enacted or pending legislation in more than 30 U.S. states prohibiting certain kinds of books from being in schools - mostly LGBTQIA+ titles and books that engage with the presence of racism in our country. Because Scholastic Book Fairs are invited into schools, where books can be purchased by kids on their own, these laws create an almost impossible dilemma: back away from these titles or risk making teachers, librarians, and volunteers vulnerable to being fired, sued, or prosecuted.
To continue offering these books, as well as even more high-interest titles, we created an additional collection called Share Every Story, Celebrate Every Voice for our U.S. elementary school fairs. We cannot make a decision for our school partners around what risks they are willing to take based on the state and local laws that apply to their district, so these topics and this collection have been part of many planning calls that happen in advance of shipping a fair.
We don’t pretend this solution is perfect - but the other option would be to not offer these books at all - which is not something we’d consider. There is a wide range of diverse titles throughout every book fair for every age level. And, we continue to offer diverse books throughout our middle school fairs, which remain unchanged.
All children need to see themselves in stories and it is extremely unsettling to consider a world in which they don’t. Scholastic’s commitment remains unshakeable to publish and distribute stories representative of ALL voices.
There have been a number of misconceptions that we want to clarify about how we have created a path to host Scholastic Book Fairs, even as schools and educators in the U.S. navigate restrictions imposed on them by state legislation and local policy. The biggest misconception is that Scholastic Book Fairs is putting all diverse titles into one optional case. This is not true, in any school, in any location we serve.
There is now enacted or pending legislation in more than 30 U.S. states prohibiting certain kinds of books from being in schools - mostly LGBTQIA+ titles and books that engage with the presence of racism in our country. Because Scholastic Book Fairs are invited into schools, where books can be purchased by kids on their own, these laws create an almost impossible dilemma: back away from these titles or risk making teachers, librarians, and volunteers vulnerable to being fired, sued, or prosecuted.
To continue offering these books, as well as even more high-interest titles, we created an additional collection called Share Every Story, Celebrate Every Voice for our U.S. elementary school fairs. We cannot make a decision for our school partners around what risks they are willing to take based on the state and local laws that apply to their district, so these topics and this collection have been part of many planning calls that happen in advance of shipping a fair.
We don’t pretend this solution is perfect - but the other option would be to not offer these books at all - which is not something we’d consider. There is a wide range of diverse titles throughout every book fair for every age level. And, we continue to offer diverse books throughout our middle school fairs, which remain unchanged.
All children need to see themselves in stories and it is extremely unsettling to consider a world in which they don’t. Scholastic’s commitment remains unshakeable to publish and distribute stories representative of ALL voices.
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