Here's the letter we sent to the Randolph County Board of Education demanding it reverse its decision to ban Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man.
Randolph County: return Invisible Man to school libraries
After an angry parent sent a letter calling Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man "filthy," North Carolina's Randolph County school board pulled it from its libraries. Now, just days after its decision made national headlines, the board has called an emergency special meeting for Wednesday, September 25 to discuss the ban. Join us in demanding that the school board reverse its decision and return Invisible Man to library shelves.
Here is the Petition:
Dear Randolph County Board of Education members,
Your decision last week to ban Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is unacceptable. Its removal from school library shelves not only alienates Black students, but denies all students an opportunity to engage with and discuss one of America's most important works of Black literature.
It's particularly perverse that elected officials concerned with the education of our young people failed to recognize the irony of banning a book that's about silencing critical voices and the ways in which racist culture restricts individuals from reaching their full human potential.
You have an opportunity to do the right thing at Wednesday's special meeting. I urge you to immediately reverse the ban of Invisible Man and ensure that your community has access to this critical literary work.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]