WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — School may be out for the summer but the battle over books rages on. A new coalition in Palm Beach County announced their efforts in a group called WAR, meaning Woke and Ready.
Under the leadership of Palm Beach County Black Caucus President Richard Ryles, the group came together in what it's calling an act of civil disobedience, standing against book bans, the so-called "Stop Woke Act" and what they feel is an attack on African American history and education.
"Our protest is to stop the limitless opportunity for the removal of books," Ryles said. "We believe the Legislature and these laws legislate untruth and unequal education and is written to center whiteness over Black and other marginalized groups."
They presented a list of classic books like "The Great Gatsby," "The Canterbury Tales," Shakespeare and more and said those books should all be removed if others are going to be restricted.
"They may not even mention race, but even the lack of any racial characters in those works shows there is a neglect of Black children," Leah Gaines with the Coalition for Black Student Achievement said of the books.
"The importance of this is to show how ridiculous the banning of books is and that a whole full-rounded education is necessary for all of our children," Lynn Hubbard with the NAACP added.
This is the second time this week we've seen a book challenge designed to prove a point in Palm Beach County.
Local activist and Rabbi Barry Silver asked the Palm Beach County School Board on Wednesday to remove the Bible for inappropriate content, citing state law.
"We don't like book banning, and we don't like censorship, and we're going to challenge it every step of the way," Silver said.
The Florida Department of Education has repeatedly said, "There are no book bans in Florida."
However, the state has given parents more rights to challenge school reading material through recent legislation, and that can lead to a book's removal if deemed not appropriate.
"Our schools must deliver a good education, not a political indoctrination," Gov. Ron DeSantis said during his State of the State address in March.
But this group said Florida's rejection of an AP African American Studies course coupled with restrictions on diversity, equity and inclusion at the college level shows something needs to change.
"The state of Florida has received a black eye as a result of the culture war legislation, and we think we need to bring ourselves back to the current times and not 1950," Ryles said.
He added the ultimate goal here is not to actually ban more books but to make a statement. He hopes to see a statewide effort to reach state lawmakers before next year's legislative session.
