CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – A class of English students is incorporating African American literature into the community because of recent book reviews by the South Carolina Department of Education.
These College of Charleston students are hosting a book drive Friday for African American literature. The student-led initiative plans on using the books to create a community library on campus for the surrounding community to appreciate.
The book drive comes after recent book reviews and approvals by the South Carolina Board of Education. The state education committee reviewed 11 instructional materials including classic titles such as ‘Romeo and Juliet’, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ and ‘1984’ in late October.
The nearly dozen books were placed on the list for possibly not being “age and developmentally appropriate”. This is the first time state leaders reviewed books following the new law that went into place over the summer. Members had to determine if books contained descriptions or depictions of sexual conduct as defined by state law.
The Instructional Material Review Committee decided to remove seven out of those 11 titles such as ‘Normal People’ by Sally Rooney and ‘Damsel’ by Elana Arnold in a meeting last week.
Students in the college English class say many of the titles that were reviewed have other themes that are helpful to middle and high school students, like racial issues, bullying and feminism.
One of the founding students of this year’s drive, Laurel Killough, says identifying racial disparities through books in the classroom prepares students to identify examples in real life.
“These books are marketed towards middle schoolers, high schoolers…that’s still an age a child can… be the target of racial discrimination,” Killough says. “So having the tools to know how to overcome that or talk to others about it are important.”
The group decided to highlight race relations and American history with the African American literature drive.
The Associate Professor for the class in the English department, Dr. Valerie Frazier, says reading is fundamental and the drive gives the community more access to important forms of literature.
“During the black arts movement in the 1960s, they believed in carrying a poem in your back pocket and sharing that wisdom with the world like the Griots in Africa,” Frazier says. “And that’s what our African American literature students want to do currently…to be those storytellers…to share those materials, the books, the text.”
The book drive starts at noon. Community members are invited to donate their books to the students and faculty at the Cougar Mall at the College of Charleston.
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