Tensions flared at the Fort Worth school district’s board meeting Tuesday when a community member was escorted out of the meeting by law enforcement while speaking out against books with sexual content.
Mike Cee was reading from the book “Flamer” by Mike Curato, which was pulled from the district’s elementary and middle school libraries this summer, during public comment when he was removed from the building. The disruption caused the board to temporarily recess while other meeting attendees shouted and argued with law enforcement about removing Cee from the building instead of only the meeting room.
District officials warned Cee that if he read any excerpt considered to be vulgar, then he would be stopped from speaking. Before Cee was removed, he spoke about Satan, God and free will.
“Satan rules the world. Satan speaks through some of you, could be some of these board members, could be some of the audience. God has given us free will to do the right thing,” Cee said.
Cee was one of several people who spoke during public comment Tuesday about what should be allowed in school libraries. “Flamer” includes LGBTQ+ themes with topics that include sexuality and growing up. It was removed from Fort Worth school libraries alongside “Gender Queer: A Memoir” by Maia Kobabe and “Wait What? A Comic Book Guide to Relationships, Bodies, and Growing Up” by Heather Corinna.
The book debate comes as Fort Worth ISD libraries are closed to students for the first two weeks of school while catalogs are reviewed for sexual and violent content, in accordance with a new state law that goes into effect Sept. 1. Beyond the three removed over the summer, more than 100 titles have been pulled from shelves, and a new director of library media services has been appointed amid the process.
Some speakers thanked board members for removing the books, but implored for a policy to be created that would prevent other books considered inappropriate from entering school libraries in the future.
Kenya Alu, executive director of the Tarrant County chapter of Citizens Defending Freedom, noted that at last month’s board meeting, other speakers were cut off from reading inappropriate excerpts from books in school libraries. The local chapter of the conservative group had recently done an independent audit of books in the district’s middle and high school libraries and also found more than 100 books it considered to be inappropriate.
“To those who label us as book banners, let me be clear. We are not for banning books, we’re for protecting children,” she said. “Just as movies have ratings, and require an adult to accompany a child to an R-rated movie, we are simply asking the same for books.”
In contrast, another speaker said regardless of the reason for the library closures, temporarily shutting them down after “a well-publicized attack on our libraries and librarians” sends a message that the district “doesn’t prioritize students’ access to books and reading, especially books that represent a wide range of perspectives.”
“I’d like the district to fully and vocally support librarians. I’d like to see more outspoken defense of our librarians against the kind of unwarranted attacks they face lately,” said Layne Craig, an English professor at Texas Christian University and a district parent. “I’m also here to support our district’s LGBTQ+ students, who are the target of current attempts to remove books from our libraries.”
“Sex, Gender and Representation: Motherhood and Culture” and “Introduction to Literature: Banned Books” are among courses Craig has taught, according to the TCU website.
Texas led the nation in school library book bans during the 2021-22 school year with 801 titles removed across 22 school districts, according to a report released by PEN America, a free speech advocacy organization. Florida followed with 566 books banned in 21 districts.
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