Mrs. Judith C. Picus, President
Mr. Jim Wigner, Vice President
Mrs. Carol D. Bell, Secretary
Ms. Patricia L. Delugas
Mr. William R. Neblock, Sr.
Dr. Edward Sharp
Mr. David Strommer
Rockford School District
201 S. Madison Street
Rockford, IL 61104
Dear Dr. Epps and Members of the Rockford School Board:
The undersigned organizations and individuals urge you to immediately lift the ban on Luis G. Rodriguez' book Always Running: A Memoir of La Vida Loca, Gang Life in L.A., which was banned from Rockford School District Library shelves by a 4-3 vote on June 11.
A number of us have already written letters of protest concerning the ban. We are disappointed that despite a school district review committee's recommendation to retain the book, widespread support from the public, and extremely favorable reviews in publications from the New York Times to the National Catholic Reporter, the school district has taken no action to reverse this blatant act of censorship.
The justifications put forth by some school board members make clear that the ban is politically motivated. According to the Rockford Register Star, board member David Strommer characterized the book as harmful, ungodly and wrong and as irreligious, anti-family, left wing, anti- American, and radical. Mr. Strommer's personal viewpoint notwithstanding, the Supreme Court ruled in 1982 that "Local school boards may not remove books from school library shelves simply because they dislike the ideas contained in those books and seek by their removal to prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion or other matters of opinion." Educators should be especially cognizant of the dangers inherent in considering one subjective interpretation of a work of literature definitive. In fact, author Rodriguez states that his intent was quite the opposite, and that he wrote the book because I don't want to see children killed anymore. I've seen too many go."
The most absurd rationale for the ban was offered by board member Edward Sharp, who was quoted in the Register Star as stating, I challenge anyone who knows how the mind works, after reading this book, not to be more likely to assume the lifestyle of a gang person and not be more likely to have sex in the back seat of a car. What you think about is what you do, and when you read this book, you think about sex and drugs. This notion was appropriately dubbed "the Xerox theory of intelligence" by the Register Star. Following it to its logical conclusion, the vast majority of world art and literature should be banned -- starting with the Bible, which depicts acts of incest, beheading, torture, adultery, stoning, and the murder of children. Great works of art such as Goya's Disasters of War and Picasso's Guernica should follow suit, as they will prompt people to commit atrocities; Shakespeare's Richard III, which will encourage fathers to kill their sons; Edgar Allan Poe's "Annabel Lee," for promoting pedophilia; and the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, which will undoubtedly foster drunkenness.
Even more alarming is a November 4 letter from Dr. Sharp to Sue Telingator of the National Writers Union which states, "To really do some good the book should be kept from the public altogether." Dr. Sharp's patronizing attitude toward the public and total disregard for the First Amendment are nothing short of appalling.
We believe that a quality education will expose students to a wide variety of ideas and give them the tools to form their own opinions and analyses. Officials charged with overseeing our school system betray the public trust when they treat students as passive vessels into which they can pour their own ideology, rather than as independent, creative individuals capable of thinking for themselves. Moreover, the contempt for the First Amendment embodied in the school district's ban sets a terrible example for students. Of all people, public servants responsible for children's education should demonstrate tolerance for the expression of a variety of perspectives.
We urge the Rockford School District to lift the ban on Always Running without delay and to return the book to library shelves. Please inform us what action is intended in this matter.
Sincerely yours,
Jean Fallow
Seattle Office Director
National Campaign for Freedom of Expression
Robert B. Chatelle
Political Issues Co-Chair
National Writers Union
David Mendoza
Chair, Free Expression Network
Jonathan Kozol
Author
Siobhan Dowd
Director, Freedom to Write Committee
PEN American Center
Roberto Bedoya
Executive Director
National Association of Artists' Organizations
Barry Lynn
Executive Director
Americans United for the Separation of Church and State
Lisa H. Thurau
Executive Director
National Committee for Public Education and Religious
Liberty
Lisa Drew
Chair, Freedom to Read Committee
Association of American Publishers
Laura W. Murphy
Director, Washington National Office
American Civil Liberties Union
Oren J. Teicher
President, American Booksellers for Free Expression
Helen DeMichiel
National Coordinator
National Alliance for Media Arts & Culture
James D'Entremont
Director
Boston Coalition for Freedom of Expression
Elliot Minceberg
General Counsel and Legal Director
People For the American Way
Leanne Katz
Executive Director
National Coalition Against Censorship
Ruby Lerner
Executive Director
Association of Independent Video & Filmmakers
Skipp Porteous
National Director
Institute for First Amendment Studies
Joan Kennedy Talyor
Vice President
Feminists for Free Expression
cc: Luis Rodriguez; Geri Nikolai, Rockford Register Star; Richard Vargas, Rock River Times; Ray Quintanilla, Chicago Tribune; Jane Fritsch, New York Times; Kate McKenna, Associated Press; Carol Klinger, National Public Radio; Anne-Marie Cusac, The Progressive; Alexander Cockburn, The Nation; Michael Albert, Z Magazine; Rebecca Sheib, Utne Reader