{"id":1168,"date":"2026-06-08T11:06:52","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T11:06:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1168"},"modified":"2026-06-08T11:06:52","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T11:06:52","slug":"sc-school-book-challenges-work-of-famed-black-woman-author-as-racially-insensitive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1168","title":{"rendered":"SC school book challenges work of famed Black woman author as racially insensitive"},"content":{"rendered":"<article><!-- --><!-- --><!-- WPS-5038 -- removed the script from WPS and added the placeholder for trinity player --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- CONTENT --><!--[--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>A lesson on a work by renowned 20th-century African-American anthropologist is being challenged in a Midlands school district because it included racial slurs.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1166\">Gas-X capsules recalled because they might have coolant from a leaky machine<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>A parent at Dutch Fork High School is challenging a lesson examining the work by author Zora Neale Hurston.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>As part of the lesson, \u201cmy daughter was provided with a handout containing racial slurs, offensive stereotypes, and degrading classifications of African Americans,\u201d the parent wrote in a formal challenge to the work. She cited a \u201ccategorized African Americans using derogatory color scales\u201d and portrayals that reinforce \u201cdangerous stereotypes of Black individuals.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The parent\u2019s challenge to the work will be taken up at Monday\u2019s meeting of the Lexington-Richland 5 school board.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The complaint attaches material from Hurston\u2019s 1928 essay \u201cHow It Feels To Be Colored Me,\u201d an examination of the author\u2019s experience moving between Black and white spaces in segregated Florida and its impact on her understanding of her racial identity.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>It was included as part of a \u201cclose read exercise\u201d assignment in a high school English class. Other worksheets included in the complaint reference Hurston\u2019s novel \u201cTheir Eyes Were Watching God\u201d and \u201cBarracoon: The Story of the Last \u2018Black Cargo,\u2019\u201d a work based on Hurston\u2019s interview with a man believed to be the last survivor of the \u201cMiddle Passage\u201d bringing people from Africa to slavery in the Americas.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>While Hurston\u2019s work is an approved classroom resource, a subsequent letter from the district acknowledged in an in-class worksheet also included \u201cHarlem Slanguage\u201d terms from Hurston\u2019s glossary of African-American slang of the period.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1165\">USC student sues SCDOT after Five Points crosswalk crash. Here\u2019s what to know<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat particular piece did not go through the required review and approval process, which must be completed before any supplemental materials are introduced in the classroom,\u201d the letter from the district\u2019s HR director says.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cRegarding her decision to include the supplement, the teacher explained that Zora Neale Hurston was a Black anthropologist and a celebrated author of the Harlem Renaissance during the 1920s, which was being studied in the class. She further explained that her intention in including the \u2018Harlem Slanguage\u2019 transcript was to highlight Hurston\u2019s work in capturing the richness and nuances of Black culture, and to underscore Hurston\u2019s belief that this language is worthy of academic study.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>But the parent asks in the complaint for the offensive material to be removed, and for tighter controls on what material can be introduced in the future.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy daughter expressed that she felt uncomfortable, confused, and disrespected, particularly because she had not previously been exposed to many of these terms,\u201d the parent wrote. \u201cShe has been raised in an environment that promotes dignity, cultural pride, and respect; values that were directly undermined by this classroom experience.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cRegardless of the historical context or authorship, the material as presented in this classroom was inappropriate, unapproved, and introduced without the necessary context or safeguards to support student understanding,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1164\">Overdose deaths in Lexington County are dropping, sheriff says. What we know<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--]--><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Dutch Fork High parent challenges Zora Neale Hurston materials for racial slurs and stereotypes; Lexington-Richland 5 will review the complaint at the school board meeting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1167,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>SC school book challenges work of famed Black woman author as racially insensitive - US Moving Experts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1168\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SC school book challenges work of famed Black woman author as racially insensitive - US Moving Experts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A Dutch Fork High parent challenges Zora Neale Hurston materials for racial slurs and stereotypes; Lexington-Richland 5 will review the complaint at the school board meeting.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1168\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"US Moving Experts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-08T11:06:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=1168#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=1168\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d4595f9a47af262eb0de41137cae39b6\"},\"headline\":\"SC school book challenges work of famed Black woman author as racially insensitive\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-08T11:06:52+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=1168\"},\"wordCount\":536,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=1168#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/2938da30fb36551821ef18f666ba086a.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Education\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=1168#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=1168\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=1168\",\"name\":\"SC school book challenges work of famed Black woman author as racially insensitive - US Moving Experts\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=1168#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=1168#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/2938da30fb36551821ef18f666ba086a.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-08T11:06:52+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d4595f9a47af262eb0de41137cae39b6\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=1168#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=1168\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=1168#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/2938da30fb36551821ef18f666ba086a.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/2938da30fb36551821ef18f666ba086a.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":674,\"caption\":\"VILNIUS, LITHUANIA - APRIL 2018 - Bookshelves in the library with a huge number of books. 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