Baptist News Global
Sections
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Curated
  • Storytelling
    • Faith & Justice >
      • Charleston: Metanoia with Bill Stanfield
      • Charlotte: QC Family Tree with Greg and Helms Jarrell
      • Little Rock: Judge Wendell Griffen
      • North Carolina: Conetoe
    • Welcoming the Stranger >
      • Lost Boys of Sudan: St. John’s Baptist Charlotte
      • Awakening to Immigrant Justice: Myers Park Baptist Church
      • Hospitality on the corner: Gaston Christian Center
    • Signature Ministries >
      • Jake Hall: Gospel Gothic, Music and Radio
    • Singing Our Faith >
      • Hymns for a Lifetime: Ken Wilson and Knollwood Baptist Church
      • Norfolk Street Choir
    • Resilient Rural America >
      • Alabama: Perry County
      • Texas: Hidalgo County
      • Arkansas Delta
      • Southeast Kentucky
  • More
    • Contact
    • About
    • Donate
    • Associated Baptist Press Foundation
    • Planned Giving
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Advertising
    • Ministry Jobs and More
    • Transitions
    • Subscribe
    • Submissions and Permissions
Donate Subscribe
Search Search this site

That time I went to the school board meeting to speak against banning books

OpinionMark Wingfield  |  April 8, 2021

This week, I found someone who has it rougher than pastors in handling dissent generated from right-wing conspiracy theories and fear of the LGBTQ community: Public school administrators.

I had no idea how bad this is, and yet I should have known.

God bless you, teachers and administrators and school board members. God bless you with strength to endure the barrage of selfish, ill-informed parents who are living in such fear that their kids will become uncomfortable in some way and want you to turn an entire district to their way of thinking. God bless you with courage to keep on doing the right thing for all kids when a few parents make themselves public health and morality experts and demand to be heard with their anti-science propaganda.

Mark Wingfield

When I learned that our local school board was going to be barraged with complaints from a small group of parents upset about library books — isn’t this 2021, y’all? —I signed up to speak during the public comment section of the board meeting Monday night. I went to speak against banning books and to speak in support of transgender kids.

What I experienced was 70 minutes of 3-minute variations on a theme likely generated on a blog post somewhere. The main points of the argument were: (1) The district spends too much time and effort on diversity and inclusion initiatives, but I’m not a racist or a bigot; (2) My kids aren’t learning to read and write and do arithmetic, even though they attend a high-performing blue-ribbon school in the district; (3) My good white Christian kids are not racists and never should be made to feel they have to apologize for anything in America’s past, which wasn’t racist anyway because we’ve always had freedom here; (4) The district secretly stocked school libraries over the summer with books about race and gender and sexuality, and I’m afraid my kids will check out one of those books and you won’t tell me they did; (5) Parents like me should have veto power over every book that’s placed in the school library; and (6) The school library should only be stocked with books that directly relate to teaching objectives such as the aforementioned reading, writing and arithmetic because anything else is either a “social construct” or a “political agenda.”

I’m not kidding. These are nearly verbatim excerpts of what was said.

“I knew we were headed for trouble when we all stood for the Pledge of Allegiance and one of the parents behind me loudly emphasized the words ‘under God.’”

I knew we were headed for trouble when we all stood for the Pledge of Allegiance and one of the parents behind me loudly emphasized the words “under God” during both the pledge to the American flag and the pledge to the Texas flag.

It should have been no further surprise, then, that the president of the school board had to admonish these same parents several times not to applaud, stand up or make gestures while others were speaking at the podium. Until the third or fourth admonishment, some of them acted like they were at a sporting event where their kids were whipping up on other little kids.

And then throw in a few other random people who wanted to speak their piece about the pandemic and the evils of believing it’s real — did you know there are 17 “scientific” articles that explain how wearing face masks is bad for your health? — and you get the full circus effect.

But back to the book banning. As someone who has walked through the fire of leading a Baptist church through an 18-month study of LGBTQ inclusion, listening to this barrage of parent complaints stirred up old emotions. I had heard all this before in a different context.

The presumption of these parents is that an entire public school district should cater to their desired limitations on what kids are exposed to and what they might choose to read. The arrogance is astounding. And when they can’t win the argument on their own biases, they change the subject to something they think will be more successful: “Because you are taking so much time talking about diversity and inclusion, my kid isn’t learning to read.”

“Apparently having the opportunity to read a book about America’s founding racism counts neither toward language arts nor history.”

Apparently having the opportunity to read a book about America’s founding racism counts neither toward language arts nor history.

And then the heavy artillery: “Our school is failing. Our district is failing. And this failure is because of all the emphasis on race and gender and sexuality.” In the church context, this argument gets expressed as, “Our Sunday school attendance is lower than it was in 1970.”

When the time came for my 3-minute address to the board, I followed three school librarians in asking the school board not to start banning books because the subject matter makes some parents uncomfortable.

Here’s what I said:

I’ve lived in our district for 22 years and sent our two boys all the way through from first grade to senior year here. Both our boys went to TCU on full academic scholarships because of how well they were taught in our district. But what they learned here was not just reading and writing and arithmetic. They learned critical thinking skills, and they learned to be good people. Merely knowing how to read, write and do math will not get you a full ride to a university.

And then I added: I’m an ordained Baptist minister who knows more transgender people than any other minister you’ve ever met. I have talked personally with hundreds of trans folks. And every one of them — to a person — told me they knew as early as age 4, 5 or 6 that they were somehow different on the inside than who they appeared to be on the outside but they didn’t have the vocabulary to talk about it. Children learn vocabulary by reading, and by reading age-appropriate books they learn to talk about who they are and how they are made.

I never dreamed that in the year of our Lord 2021 I would stand before a big city school board to defend keeping age-appropriate books in a library.

Look, I get it. Parenting is hard and scary. I’ve been there. And I’ve witnessed other parents who were so concerned about their child being left out, not fitting in, that they wanted to perpetually rig the game to ensure their child was accommodated. But in every case I can think of, these were parents with immense privilege due to race, income and status. But that wasn’t enough.

“What I’ve seldom seen is parents of marginalized children seeking to redefine the entire playing field to ensure their kids come out on top.”

What I’ve seldom seen is parents of marginalized children seeking to redefine the entire playing field, a whole school district even, to ensure their kids come out on top. Most of the time, these parents simply want there to be room for their kids, a safe place to learn and grow. And that requires more than reading, writing and arithmetic.

It’s easy to look at minority groups as so insignificant that no effort should be made to include them. But sometimes a reframing shows us a reason why.

The latest national research on transgender youth finds that 1.8% identify as transgender. That appears to be a small portion of any school district, until you do the math. In our public school district that serves more than 39,000 students, that means there are most likely 700 students who already identify or will identify as transgender or non-binary. For comparison, 700 students is about the size of one of the larger elementary schools in our district.

And here’s the other part of the data picture that matters: The Williams Institute at UCLA Law has documented that 46% of homeless LGBTQ youth ran away from home because of family rejection of their sexual orientation or gender identity; 43% were forced out by parents; and 32% faced physical, emotional or sexual abuse at home.

Even when families — usually driven by conservative evangelical ideology — disown their children, our public schools do not. Neither should our school libraries.

Mark Wingfield serves as executive director and publisher of Baptist News Global. He is the author of Why Churches Need to Talk About Sexuality and gave a 2016 TEDx Talk titled “The Baptist Pastor and His Transgender Friends.“

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)

OPINION: Views expressed in Baptist News Global columns and commentaries are solely those of the authors.
Tags:Racelibrariesparentingschool librariesracismbook banningBooksInclusionDiversityLGBTQpublic educationhomeless LGBTQ youthLGBTQ inclusionschool board
More by
Mark Wingfield
  • Get BNG headlines in your inbox

  • Featured

    • The state murder of Tyre Nichols

      Opinion

    • Armie Hammer links his sexual excesses as an adult to his abuse by a youth pastor when he was 13

      News

    • Three images to remember Tyre Nichols

      Opinion

    • U.N. World Harmony Week is only seven days but must last all year, speakers say

      News


    Curated

    • Via jokes, ChatGPT chooses which religious traditions and figures deserve respect — and therefore what counts as ‘religion’

      Via jokes, ChatGPT chooses which religious traditions and figures deserve respect — and therefore what counts as ‘religion’

    • A brief history of the Black church’s diversity, and its vital role in American political history

      A brief history of the Black church’s diversity, and its vital role in American political history

    • “Left Behind: Rise Of The Antichrist” Is The Latest Installment In The Apocalyptic Thriller Franchise. It’s Nothing More Than Evangelical Make-Believe

      “Left Behind: Rise Of The Antichrist” Is The Latest Installment In The Apocalyptic Thriller Franchise. It’s Nothing More Than Evangelical Make-Believe

    • Antisemitic flyers could spur action on proposed Georgia law

      Antisemitic flyers could spur action on proposed Georgia law

    Read Next:

    PC(USA) committee lambasted for choosing a ‘text of terror’ for ordination exam

    NewsMark Wingfield

    More Articles

    • All
    • News
    • Opinion
    • Curated
    • Study finds racial and ethnic identity plays a role in mental health of Gen Z

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • How a medical emergency during worship showed love in action

      OpinionZach W. Lambert

    • U.N. World Harmony Week is only seven days but must last all year, speakers say

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • The historical significance of ETBU acquiring B.H. Carroll Institute

      AnalysisMark Wingfield

    • Three images to remember Tyre Nichols

      OpinionJulia Goldie Day

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • The state murder of Tyre Nichols

      OpinionLisa Sharon Harper and David Gushee

    • Armie Hammer links his sexual excesses as an adult to his abuse by a youth pastor when he was 13

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • ‘I remember repeating to myself: “I have the right to be here.”’

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Lyell asks Alabama court to dismiss Sills lawsuit for lack of jurisdiction

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • PC(USA) committee lambasted for choosing a ‘text of terror’ for ordination exam

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • BCMD executive director, also a NAMB vice president, resigns due to ‘moral failure’

      NewsMaina Mwaura

    • Title 42, congregations and the sojourner

      OpinionSean Powell

    • SBC Executive Committee member once again criticized for sexually crude social media posts

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • The truth about police brutality

      OpinionJames Ellis III

    • In Ukraine: ‘We cannot just preach like we did before the war’

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • TikTok trends and three questions you and your church should ask this year about rest

      AnalysisLaura Ellis

    • Two churches ‘under inquiry’ by SBC Credentials Committee for platforming Johnny Hunt

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Biblical orthodoxy 2023: Sign or get ‘churched’

      OpinionBill Leonard, Senior Columnist

    • Zimbabwean pastors flee ministry to join more lucrative care work in the UK

      NewsRay Mwareya

    • Jesus and Buddha are talking with me about loving and blessing my enemies

      OpinionH. Stephen Shoemaker

    • Biden administration urged to remove Cuba from list of state sponsors of terrorism

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Why most everything you think you know about global migration is probably wrong

      AnalysisMark Wingfield

    • What did Pope Francis say, and what did he mean, in AP interview on homosexuality?

      AnalysisMallory Challis

    • Transitions for the week of 2-3-23

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Study finds racial and ethnic identity plays a role in mental health of Gen Z

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • U.N. World Harmony Week is only seven days but must last all year, speakers say

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Armie Hammer links his sexual excesses as an adult to his abuse by a youth pastor when he was 13

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • ‘I remember repeating to myself: “I have the right to be here.”’

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Lyell asks Alabama court to dismiss Sills lawsuit for lack of jurisdiction

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • PC(USA) committee lambasted for choosing a ‘text of terror’ for ordination exam

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • BCMD executive director, also a NAMB vice president, resigns due to ‘moral failure’

      NewsMaina Mwaura

    • SBC Executive Committee member once again criticized for sexually crude social media posts

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • In Ukraine: ‘We cannot just preach like we did before the war’

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Two churches ‘under inquiry’ by SBC Credentials Committee for platforming Johnny Hunt

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Zimbabwean pastors flee ministry to join more lucrative care work in the UK

      NewsRay Mwareya

    • Biden administration urged to remove Cuba from list of state sponsors of terrorism

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Transitions for the week of 2-3-23

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • ‘Can you imagine looting the religious artifacts that help strengthen the Christian faith from the Vatican?’

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • Panelists discuss how the Hamline University controversy could have been handled better in a diverse culture

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Pope Francis arrives in Africa on a two-nation tour seeking peace amid decades of conflict

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • Museum of the Bible to host Wednesday morning event to pray for God’s judgment on America, and breakfast is not included

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • National Prayer Breakfast gets new sponsorship but still looks like government-sponsored religion, BJC leaders say

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Zimbabwe Theological Seminary names new principal

      NewsBNG staff

    • What happens when church and state merge? Look to Nazi Germany for answers

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Southwestern Seminary student arrested for alleged ‘felony sexual assault’

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Trial date set for Patterson and Southwestern versus Jane Roe

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Faith groups must fight online hate, Interfaith Alliance urges

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • How a medical emergency during worship showed love in action

      OpinionZach W. Lambert

    • Three images to remember Tyre Nichols

      OpinionJulia Goldie Day

    • The state murder of Tyre Nichols

      OpinionLisa Sharon Harper and David Gushee

    • Title 42, congregations and the sojourner

      OpinionSean Powell

    • The truth about police brutality

      OpinionJames Ellis III

    • Biblical orthodoxy 2023: Sign or get ‘churched’

      OpinionBill Leonard, Senior Columnist

    • Jesus and Buddha are talking with me about loving and blessing my enemies

      OpinionH. Stephen Shoemaker

    • Letter to the Editor: Kudos all around for Baptist News Global

      OpinionLetters to the Editor

    • Letter to the Editor: Jesus expects us to follow him; Trump expects us to follow him

      OpinionLetters to the Editor

    • Humor and hope mark the dark journey taken by a creative and brave photojournalist

      OpinionKathy Manis Findley

    • One year of sobriety

      OpinionGlen Schmucker

    • Men’s ministry needs more than, eggs, bacon and football

      OpinionMaina Mwaura

    • The church must show the world a more excellent way of nonviolence

      OpinionRodney Kennedy

    • Church historian Richard Hughes reflects on a lifetime of ‘Troublesome Questions’

      OpinionTed Parks

    • What churches could learn from the Pub Choir phenomenon

      OpinionMike Frost

    • Living into lament: A white response to the killing of Tyre Nichols by police

      OpinionRobert P. Jones

    • Of church cemeteries, pulpit committees, crafts and sweet potato casserole

      OpinionChris Ayers

    • Of Margie, mountains and ‘El Shaddai’

      OpinionBert Montgomery

    • What I learned from meeting Martin Luther King in Louisville and Josie in Hopkinsville

      OpinionBill Thurman

    • On the baptism of our firstborn

      OpinionEmily Hull McGee

    • Has virtual worship actually harmed Christianity?

      OpinionSara Robb-Scott

    • ‘What can we forgive?’: An interview with Matthew Ichihashi Potts on Forgiveness

      OpinionGreg Garrett, Senior Columnist

    • My father’s faith

      OpinionBrett Younger

    • The apology that never came at Bubba-Doo’s

      OpinionCharles Qualls

    • Trump and his allegedly disloyal white evangelical supporters

      OpinionRobert P. Jones

    • Via jokes, ChatGPT chooses which religious traditions and figures deserve respect — and therefore what counts as ‘religion’

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • A brief history of the Black church’s diversity, and its vital role in American political history

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • “Left Behind: Rise Of The Antichrist” Is The Latest Installment In The Apocalyptic Thriller Franchise. It’s Nothing More Than Evangelical Make-Believe

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Antisemitic flyers could spur action on proposed Georgia law

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • A brief history of the Black church’s diversity, and its vital role in American political history

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • New effort surveys Sikh students about bullying and school climate in the US

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Civil rights legislation sparked powerful backlash that’s still shaping American politics

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Church of England submits blessings for same-sex couples to fierce debate in Synod

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • GOP Rep. Who Spoke At Pro-Hitler Event Goes After Ilhan Omar Because Of ‘Anti-Semitism’

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Psychedelic churches in US pushing boundaries of religion

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Prominent Jewish leaders add to drumbeat of criticism of Israel’s new government

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • At Tyre Nichols’ funeral, VP Harris and Sharpton among those praying and promising reform

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Marvin Olasky Still Wants to Make Journalism Biblically Objective

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Progressive National Baptists to deploy $1 million grant to boost ‘compelling preaching’

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Church of England sheds light on ‘shameful’ slave trade ties

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Chinese Christians remain in Thailand fearing deportation

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Black police officers aren’t colorblind – they’re infected by the same anti-Black bias as American society and police in general

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Ohio is investigating a Nazi homeschooling network that teaches children to love Hitler

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Omar says some Republicans don’t want a Muslim in Congress: ‘These people are OK with Islamophobia’

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Tyre Nichols police beating video prompts faith leaders to react with grief, goals

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • How Egyptian police hunt LGBT people on dating apps

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • N. Carolina church says it lost nearly $800K in email scam

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • On A Mission To Fill Empty Pulpits: A Couple Addressing The Preacher Shortage

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Second gentleman Emhoff visits Auschwitz, part of a push against antisemitism

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • A Buddhist disaster relief organization offers key support after Monterey Park shooting

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    Conversations that Matter.

    © 2023 Baptist News Global. All rights reserved.

    Want to share a story? We hope you will! Read our republishing, terms of use and privacy policies here.

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • RSS