On the chopping block: Rutherford County School Board may ban seven books

The Rutherford County school board will soon decide whether to ban seven books from school libraries.

Here is a list of the books potentially being pulled:

• "Beloved" by Toni Morrison
• "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky
• "Wicked" by Gregory Maguire
• "Homegoing" by Yaa Gyasi
• "Skin and Bones" by Sherry Shahan
• "Queen of Shadows" by Sara J. Maas
• "Tower of Dawn" by Sara J. Maas

WTVF

Some attended Thursday night’s school board meeting to weigh in on the decision.

Jennifer Edwards, who spoke in the public hearing, says one of the books on the chopping block drastically impacted her life.

"I was a 15-year-old who picked up 'Beloved' by Toni Morrison," said Edwards about a novel that explores the topic of slavery after the American Civil War.

"I could feel a sense of what the main character was going through and the decisions she was making," she explained. "My ancestors, my lineage, has that in there. Why would I not want to know what it was like for people to go through that?"

Keri Lambert, the vice president of Rutherford County Library Alliance, said teens have the right to access these types of novels, and that a ban could threaten AP students studying the material.

"Education is power, knowledge is power," she said.

Some may argue certain parts of each book are obscene, although no one at Thursday's meeting expressed that viewpoint outright.

The ACLU in Tennessee also weighed in here, saying they are monitoring the situation in Rutherford County and are prepared to take legal action if books are banned unconstitutionally.

The school board assured the room they would review each book before making a final decision.

The board is set to make a final vote on whether to ban the books Sept. 19.

Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at nikki.hauser@newschannel5.com.

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