Book banners bring storytime to Washoe County School Board, read ‘American Psycho’ to trustees

The "scope of such censorship has expanded drastically and in unprecedented fashion since the beginning of the 2021–22 school year."(Photo by Max McCoy/Kansas Reflector)

Policy, politics and progressive commentary

Nearly two hours of public comment during Tuesday’s Washoe County School Board meeting centered around banning books.

There wasn’t any item on the agenda about the Washoe County School District’s book curriculum that prompted the discussion. None of the board members indicated they would take future action on book bans.

Silver State Equality, which promotes civil rights for the LGBTQ+ community, warned the trustees the surge in calls to ban books is being brought on by “out-of-state LGBTQ+ extremists” who are trying to reverse inclusive curriculum.

“They are creating a big panic about LGBTQ+ people in literature instead of working to solve real problems in our school district,” said Bri Schmidt, a program associate with Silver State Equality.

The onslaught in public comment urging the district to restrict reading materials comes as there has been a nationwide surge in books banned in schools and local libraries.

PEN America, a national organization focused on free expression, found between July and December 2023 there were 4,349 book bans nationwide, though none were reported in Nevada.

The target of bans is books dealing with LGBTQ+ issues, specifically literature featuring transgender characters, or books about race and racism.

District librarians and teachers pushed back against what they called a vocal minority. They opposed attempts to remove library books and pointed out that the school district already has a policy that allows parents to restrict their children from reading certain materials.

“Parents have every right to determine what is appropriate for their children to read, and we have processes in place to ensure their values and requests are met and followed,” said Nikki Buhrmann, a librarian within WCSD. “We do not need folks from out of the area choosing books for every child to read.”

Speakers calling for book bans argued they were concerned about the well-being of students and denied being influenced by groups from outside of the state. Some referenced having their own grandchildren or children enrolled in the district.

Yet, those calling for book bans read excerpts, sometimes without context, from the same books that have already been targeted by right-wing groups in other states.

That includes books like John Green’s “Looking for Alaska,” which was banned 27 times last year, and Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye,” which was banned 29 times, according to PEN America.

Parents also read excerpts from “All Boys Aren’t Blue” and “The Lovely Bones” and questioned the specific portions of those books. Some said the content was vulgar and obscene.

North Carolina pastor John Amanchukwu started reading a passage from “American Psycho” that included several lines of profanity and depicted a sexual encounter, despite trustees warning speakers to refrain from using the language in a public setting. After several warnings to the Amanchukwu, trustees took a brief recess as an attempt to restore order.

Debi Stears, the collection development manager at Washoe County Library System, spoke against possible book bans, and said many of the books named at the school board meeting were the same titles book banners have attempted to remove from the public library system.

She said she has read the books being mentioned and said she “didn’t find obscenity or pornography as your challengers claim.”

“Instead I read stories of young people grappling with life’s big issues,” she said. “What does it mean to try and achieve the American Dream when you belong to an immigrant family?  What kind of devastating consequences might come from making dangerous choices? How do I figure out who I am in the world? How do I turn to my faith in times of need?”

[ Editor’s Note : This article has been updated to include the name of the public commenter who read “American Psycho.”]

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