Commentary | Orange parent: Book bans don’t protect education, they hinder itOrlando Sentinelby Stephana FerrellFebruary 20, 2024There’s a bit of irony in Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz purposefully mischaracterizing a book like Marilyn Reynolds “Shut Up!” as “sexually graphic” to scare a person into silence. The abuser in “Shut Up!” accuses his victim’s older brother (a witness to the abuse) of watching pornography, resulting in expulsion from the house, so he could have full, unprotected access to his victim. Yes, I am the parent — sorry, “activist” — that Commissioner Diaz was referring to when he shared his uninformed opinion of the book “Shut Up!” at the “book ban hoax” press conference last week in Orange County. Both of my children attend OCPS schools. I volunteer my time tracking censorship across the state for the nonprofit Florida Freedom to Read Project. Am I an “activist?” A “mama bear?” I prefer public-school parent, exercising the right to protect my children’s education, including pushing back when books are banned. And yes, I mean banned. If this book was simply being removed to make room for others, a media specialist would be able to reorder it when a student expressed interest in reading it. That cannot happen with “Shut Up!” in Orange County. It also can’t happen with “The Bluest Eye,” “Sold” or “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.” These are all books that address sexual assault in direct, descriptive language. These books are not pornography. They are not obscene. And, they are not expressly forbidden under the current language of the law.
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