Putnam Parents Challenge Book On Summer Reading List

PUTNAM VALLEY, NY — Parents concerned about anti-racism initiatives in the Putnam Valley school district are complaining about a book on the ninth-grade summer reading list, "The Hate U Give."

The book was in the top 10 on the American Library Association's list of most challenged books in 2020, 2018 and 2017 (the year it was published).

The ALA said in 2017: "Despite winning multiple awards and being the most searched-for book on Goodreads during its debut year, this YA novel was challenged and banned in school libraries and curriculums because it was considered 'pervasively vulgar' and because of drug use, profanity, and offensive language."

By 2018, opponents of the book also called it "anti-cop" because it tells the story of a young Black girl who sees a friend shot by police and begins protesting.

One parent also made sure the matter came to the attention of Tatiana Ibrahim, the name Mahopac resident Tanya Brahimi, who received national attention for an impassioned speech at her school board meeting, uses in her role as an activist. She accused her district of indoctrinating students by teaching critical race theory (which school officials deny) and by following New York State's diversity, equity and inclusion initiative.

Critical race theory is a decades-old legal and academic framework that looks at and critiques how race and racism shaped the U.S. laws and institutions that remain in place today and help perpetuate racism and a kind of caste system that continues to the disadvantage of people of color. The phrase has become a catchall for various claims about racism and race relations in the United States having nothing to do with critical race theory itself.

In response to Facebook supporters on the page she started in June, Ibrahim wrote, "a county that has been silent for a long time is not taking this crap anymore. Putnam county is taking its schools back. I’m so honored to be part of a strong courageous county of Patriots."

She also helped a Yorktown parent who was upset by a school employee's speeches at Black Lives Matter rallies in 2020 calling on white people to help end institutional racism. SEE: Yorktown Argues Over School District's Diversity Initiative

Brahimi also has a Facebook page promoting Blue Lives Matter and the Parents of Murdered Children Grief Support Group. Her son Michael Esposito was killed during a fight in 2016.

Putnam Valley schools Superintendent Jeremy Luft told Patch the book has been on the optional reading list for incoming freshmen for the past couple of years. "We have heard from a total of three individuals this past week in reference to the book," he said. "We communicated directly with each individual reaffirming that the book was optional and that their child should read a different book if they were not comfortable with the book in question."

"The Hate U Give" was one of 273 books named in 156 challenges to library, school and university materials and services in 2020 tracked by the American Library Association. They included not only newly published books like "The Hate U Give" but also classics like "Of Mice and Men" and "To Kill A Mockingbird." Here are the most challenged, along with the reasons cited for censoring the books:

1. "George" by Alex Gino. Reasons: Challenged, banned, and restricted for LGBTQIA+ content, conflicting with a religious viewpoint, and not reflecting “the values of our community”
2. "Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You" by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds. Reasons: Banned and challenged because of author’s public statements, and because of claims that the book contains “selective storytelling incidents” and does not encompass racism against all people
3. "All American Boys" by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely. Reasons: Banned and challenged for profanity, drug use, and alcoholism, and because it was thought to promote anti-police views, contain divisive topics, and be “too much of a sensitive matter right now”
4. "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson. Reasons: Banned, challenged, and restricted because it was thought to contain a political viewpoint and it was claimed to be biased against male students, and for the novel’s inclusion of rape and profanity
5. "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie. Reasons: Banned and challenged for profanity, sexual references, and allegations of sexual misconduct by the author
6. "Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story About Racial Injustice" by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, and Ann Hazzard, illustrated by Jennifer Zivoin. Reasons: Challenged for “divisive language” and because it was thought to promote anti-police views
7. "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. Reasons: Banned and challenged for racial slurs and their negative effect on students, featuring a “white savior” character, and its perception of the Black experience
8. "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck. Reasons: Banned and challenged for racial slurs and racist stereotypes, and their negative effect on students
9. "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison. Reasons: Banned and challenged because it was considered sexually explicit and depicts child sexual abuse
10. "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas. Reasons: Challenged for profanity, and it was thought to promote an anti-police message

Editor's Note: This article has been revised to include the response from the school district and information about critical race theory.