Every September, I grab controversial titles in my high school library and put them on display amid yellow caution tape to celebrate Banned Books Week. I pull classics such as “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “Of Mice and Men” along with contemporary books such as “All American Boys” and “The Hate U Give.” Then, I visit classrooms to talk about the many books that have been challenged and banned in U.S. schools and libraries, as well as the First Amendment issues that come along with banning books.
In a similar fashion, there’s been a movement happening in some states to limit teachers’ curriculum. In May, Oklahoma’s governor signed a bill aimed at blocking instruction based on critical race theory. A teacher who uses critical race theory in the classroom teaches about the impact race and racism have on politics, decision-making and everyday life. A bill to do the same thing passed through the Texas Senate and is now awaiting decision in the Texas House.
Make no mistake, these bills and other efforts like them in Arkansas, Iowa and Mississippi come in opposition to strides made by the Black Lives Matter movement and The New York Times‘ 1619 Project, which both have put issues of race and racism to the forefront.
In my own experience as a former English teacher in Chicago Public Schools for 15 years, CPS told teachers twice to ban curriculum and limit discussions about race. I didn’t listen either time.
In 2013, then-CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett banned the book “Persepolis” from classrooms. The graphic novel is about a young Iranian girl facing bans and limits herself due to a brutal dictatorship. Defiantly, many CPS teachers and students taught and read it in spite of the ban, placing pictures all over social media. I placed the book on display prominently in my library at Lindblom Math and Science Academy.
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The second ask came in 2018 when former Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke, a white cop, was on trial for the murder of Laquan McDonald, a Black Chicago teen. CPS asked educators to hold discussions but to remain neutral despite nearly every Chicagoan, including my students, having watched the video of Van Dyke shooting McDonald 16 times. Following CPS’ orders, I held a discussion. But defying orders, when my students asked me how I felt, I did not stay neutral.
I told them I cried when they announced the verdict. I could barely catch my breath. Every time I saw the video, I pictured a different student in place of Laquan. I thought, finally, justice.
In both instances, it was important for me to defy CPS’ orders. CPS was asking me to restrict a text and my thoughts about controversial topics regarding people of color. As a white educator teaching in schools where a majority of my students were not white, I believe these actions would have been complying with white supremacy.
Many of us in CPS also didn’t listen to the district’s orders for another big reason — we weren’t afraid of being fired for it. Many schools did not believe in the district’s orders. But we also knew that the Chicago Teachers Union, the strongest teachers union in the nation, had our backs.
The same is not true in other districts, especially in states that voted red in the 2020 election. These states and many like them have weakened their teachers unions and protections for teachers. It makes it difficult to dismantle white supremacy if teachers fear losing their jobs.
We are in an era where issues of race appear on the nightly news as a norm. It is not something our children and adolescents can avoid. We need educators to be allowed to have tough conversations about race and gender. We need them to be able to teach the historical and present-day injustices occurring due to racism and sexism. If we don’t empower our educators to do so, we can only expect that white supremacy will continue for many generations.
Gina Caneva is the library media specialist for East Leyden High School in Franklin Park. She taught in CPS for 15 years and is nationally board certified.
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