By Maya Boddie
(Source: BIN)
Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye has been removed from school libraries in Georgia’s Cobb County, with officials citing explicit descriptions of child rape and incest.
The Cobb County School District announced the removal Thursday (September 17), according to CBS News Atlanta. The district serves about 100,000 students, making Cobb County the second-largest school district in Georgia, according to Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB).
Superintendent Chris Ragsdale defended the decision in a statement, saying parents should not have to explain descriptions of child incest and rape to their children after encountering them in a school-provided book.
“As the superintendent responsible for the instruction of 100,000 students, I do not have the luxury of making that decision for other parents and their children,” Ragsdale said.
The 1970 novel follows Pecola Breedlove, a young Black girl navigating racism, poverty, and abuse.
The book has faced challenges for decades, appearing on the American Library Association’s list of the 10 most challenged books in 2006, 2013, 2014, 2020, 2022 and 2024, according to CBS News Atlanta.
But GPB reported that a retired school librarian questioned whether Cobb County followed its own process for removing challenged books.
Under the district’s policies, parents or guardians can request a book review and appeal the decision if the issue isn’t resolved at the school level. District staff can also flag a title for review.
CBS News Atlanta reported that the district has removed 30 books from its libraries since 2024. The Bluest Eye is the first book removed this year.
The novel has faced challenges in other Georgia school districts. GPB reported that Forsyth County removed the book in January 2022, but returned it in August 2022 after a review process, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
