Dupage Policy Journal

During the public comment portion of the April 25 Elmhurst School District Board of Education meeting, resident Tom Chavez questioned the district’s process for instructional material selection and approval. He felt that a book that was chosen for a core freshman English class was “vulgar, misogynistic, sexually explicit, pornographic, far below grade level complexity.”  

The book in question was "American Street" by Ibi Zoboi. First published in 2017, it is the story of a young girl immigrating to American from Haiti, and the struggles she faces after being separated from her mother and having to adjust to the streets of Detroit from the life she knew in Haiti. The book is rated for grade level 9 and up, and for readers ages 14-17.                                     

"Tonight I want to draw attention to the D205 instructional material selection and adoption process," Chavez said. "Specifically I want the district to explain to the community why it continues to propose books for core freshman English curriculum that are vulgar, misogynistic, sexually explicit, pornographic, far below grade level complexity. To be crystal clear, these books are not finding their way into core curriculum by accident or slipping through administrative cracks. This behavior is intentional as these materials supposedly pass through many layers of oversight before landing in the hands of 13- or 14-year-old children."

American Street | https://www.amazon.com/American-Street-Ibi-Zoboi/dp/0062473042

Chavez attempted to read a passage directly from the book, which included several vulgarities and swear words, but the board stopped him, with board member Kelly Henry asking him to pause until all of the kids were able to leave the room.

Chavez apologized, saying that he thought all of the students were already gone. The board stopped the clock on his comment time until the doors were closed. He went on to claim that the book has “339 swear words, 37 instances of drug and alcohol abuse, 55 sexual incidents, 32 incidents of violence” and was promoting aggression and abuse toward women, as well as exposing children to sexual material that was too explicit for their age and cognitive development.                        

After Chavez spoke, other parents and members of the community made their opinions on the book heard. The speaker directly after him thanked the board for including the book in the curriculum as it tells the story of a young girl, promoted diversity and inclusion in their classes, and challenged their students. She compared it to several other well-known books, such as "The Kite Runner," and believed that the exposure to vulgarity and sexual content were issues and ideas that need to be conquered and not avoided. 

Several others spoke against any efforts to ban books from the curriculum, as well as their opposition to the appropriateness of the book for their 14-year- old students. The board did not respond to the comments, and while they did approve some materials for next school year, most of them were science or language instructional books and were not points of contention.