Strange Country Ep. 218: Kanawha County Textbook Wars

The current spate of book banning is nothing new in America. Strange Country cohosts Beth and Kelly take readers back to Kanawha County in 1974 when protestors firebombed schools and shot at school buses to protest the adoption of a new textbooks. The books, they said, were obscene and would hurt children so what better way to save them but by throwing sticks of dynamites into their classrooms, right? Theme music: Big White Lie by A Cast of Thousands Cite your sources: Bloch, E. (2021, May 18). Florida Education commissioner says he made sure Amy Donofrio was fired; now her legal team's responding. The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved February 23, 2022, from https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/education/2021/05/17/florida-education-commissioner-richard-corcoran-says-fired-duval-county-teacher-supporting-blm/5134544001/  Foerstel, H. N. (2002). Banned in the U.S.A.: A reference guide to book censorship in Schoolsand Public Libraries. revised and expanded edition. Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.  Franklin, B. A. (1975, April 15). Bomber testifies that minister blessed dynamiting of schools in book dispute. The New York Times. Retrieved February 23, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/1975/04/15/archives/bomber-testifies-that-minister-blessed-dynamiting-of-schools-in.html  Harris, E. A., & Alter, A. (2022, January 30). Book ban efforts spread across the U.S. The New York Times. Retrieved February 23, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/30/books/book-ban-us-schools.html  Martin, W. (1982, November 1). The guardians who slumbereth not. Texas Monthly. Retrieved February 23, 2022, from https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/the-guardians-who-slumbereth-not/  Mason, C. (2009). Reading appalachia from left to right conservatives and the 1974 kanawha county textbook controversy. Cornell University Press.  Mechem, B. (2022, January 20). Parents protest after black lives matter video shown to Sarasota students: Sarasota. Your Observer. Retrieved February 23, 2022, from https://www.yourobserver.com/article/parents-protest-after-black-lives-matter-video-shown-to-students  Meckler, L., & Natanson, H. (2022, February 15). New Critical Race Theory Laws Have Teachers Scared, confused and self-censoring. The Washington Post. Retrieved February 23, 2022, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/02/14/critical-race-theory-teachers-fear-laws/  NBCUniversal News Group. (2021, December 8). Texas School District pulls 400 books from library shelves for review after legislator's inquiry. NBCNews.com. Retrieved February 23, 2022, from https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/texas-school-district-pulls-400-books-library-shelves-review-lawmakers-rcna7891  Posner, Sarah. "Debate over teaching books by Black authors has roots in violent 1974 clash in West Virginia." Washington Post, 29 Oct. 2021, p. NA. Gale OneFile: News, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A680608885/STND?u=nysl_sc_flls&sid=bookmark-STND&xid=36a235ac. Accessed 12 Feb. 2022. Schwartz, S., & Pendharkar, E. (2022, February 22). Here's the long list of topics Republicans want banned from the classroom. Education Week. Retrieved February 23, 2022, from https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/heres-the-long-list-of-topics-republicans-want-banned-from-the-classroom/2022/02  Vass, Kyle "West Virginia textbook battle shows how GOP turned its image from 'blue blood to blue collar'; Before conservatives weaponized critical race theory, a violent 1974 clash over school books helped Republicans rebrand to appeal to white workers." Guardian [London, England], 25 Nov. 2021, p. NA. Gale OneFile: News, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A683847032/STND?u=nysl_sc_flls&sid=bookmark-STND&xid=06158f7f. Accessed 12 Feb. 2022. Whiteleather, M. (2022, February 10). Bill could require posting a year's worth of lesson plans. teachers aren't happy. Education Week. Retrieved February 23, 2022, from https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/bill-could-require-posting-a-years-worth-of-lesson-plans-teachers-arent-happy/2022/02