“Free Our Books” Say 4th Graders After Studying Representation and Book Bans

By Allison Acosta

As part of the Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action, 4th graders studied the importance of representation in books and the book bans that have escalated throughout the United States since 2021. This activity was led by the teaching team of Katie Soffer, Rim Haile, Jamirious Mooney, and Simeon Jackson at Inspired Teaching Demonstration PCS in Washington, D.C.

Before the Week of Action, teachers and students discussed the importance of representation in books and the idea, first introduced by Rudine Sims Bishop, of books as mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors to see ourselves and understand others.

The fourth graders read the NEA Today article “Why We Need Diverse Books” and then looked at literature in their classroom for examples. Some students took photos of themselves with “mirror” and “window” books. Students will continue to add to the display of mirror, window, and sliding glass door books throughout the year. Soffer also read aloud A Kids Book About Systemic Racism and the class discussed why it is important not only to show diverse characters, but also to have authors who represent a wide range of backgrounds, or “Own Voices” books.

On the first day of the Week of Action, St. Clair Detrick-Jules visited the school to talk about her book My Beautiful Black Hair: 101 Natural Hair Stories from the Sisterhood. Detrick-Jules explained that she wrote the book after her little sister was bullied about her hair. In the book, women share stories celebrating their natural Black hairstyles.

On the second day, Soffer shared the EdWeek article “As Book Bans Escalate, Here’s What You Need to Know.” After reading about the sharp increase in book bans, students talked about ways to fight back against the bans, like protesting, writing letters, or going to school board meetings.

Students used the PEN America website to research which books in their own classroom library are already being banned or challenged in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school years in other states. Students wanted to know if they would get in trouble for reading these books. Soffer explained that actually it is the teachers and librarians who would get in trouble for having the books in the classroom.