The Goddard school district recently removed 29 books from their libraries following a complaint about their content, themes covering racism, racial diversity, LGBTQ+ issues and poverty.

In late November, Goddard’s school district got multiple complaints about the language in some of the books in question; specifically “The Hate U Give,” a book about a black 16-year-old girl who watched a police officer shoot her childhood best friend.

Another book parents had a problem with was “Black Girl Unlimited,” a book that explores issues with poverty, sexual violence, depression and racism. 

Other books temporarily removed by the Goddard district include “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margret Atwood, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky and “The Bluest Eyes” by Toni Morrison. 

This happened shortly after Texas’s school board announced it is reviewing over 450+ books and are considering banning various books from local libraries as well. 

Books on the Texas list cover themes such as the Holocaust, racial identity, war, LGBTQ issues and more. 

The problem with excluding books that cover heavy topics like these is that kids will have less of a chance of finding out how others experience the world. I think it’s idiotic decision to pull books that covers important topics that informs kids about life. 

 It doesn’t matter if the kids or the parents in the situation are uncomfortable with the topics being covered, it’s necessary information for kids to find out how the world acts.

Racism won’t stop and LGBTQ+ won’t stop being targeted and hate crimed. It’s the parents’ job to teach their kids how to act around people and not to shelter them away from uncomfortable books.

If they keep trying to “protect” their kids from important information, what else will they try to hide away from their kids? 

This also brings up the issue that if these books are able to be banned because it makes parents uncomfortable, then what other books could be banned because of this?

Goddard could be thinking like Texas and start taking off books that talk about historical times, like the Holocaust. 

That being said, since cities in Kansas are banning books, Wichita may be facing its own book banning problem in the future.