{"id":1219,"date":"2026-06-09T12:08:45","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T12:08:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1219"},"modified":"2026-06-09T12:08:45","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T12:08:45","slug":"what-did-midlands-school-board-decide-on-racial-book-controversy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1219","title":{"rendered":"What did Midlands school board decide on racial book controversy?"},"content":{"rendered":"<article><!-- --><!-- --><!-- WPS-5038 -- removed the script from WPS and added the placeholder for trinity player --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- CONTENT --><!--[--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>A split vote by a Midlands school district will restrict usage of a controversial worksheet that led to accusations of racial insensitivity, even as the works by a celebrated Black author on which the lesson was based remained untouched.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1217\">SC traffic fatalities down this year so far, DPH data shows. These counties have the most deaths<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The Lexington-Richland 5 school board voted on a formal challenge brought by a parent over a high school English lesson based on a book by author Zora Neale Hurston. The complaint said the lesson included the use of racial slurs and stereotypes that had left students disturbed.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>After hearing from critics of the plan and supporters of academic freedom, the board voted 4-2 to restrict use of material on Hurston\u2019s \u201cHarlem Slanguage\u201d to approved uses by instructional staff only.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>School board member Catherine Huddle categorized the decision as saying the offensive material is \u201cnot distributed to students\u201d but \u201cteachers can have it to answer questions about the \u2018slanguage\u2019 in the essay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The complaint came about after a Dutch Fork High School lesson on 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>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><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>That material did not go through the district\u2019s approval process, the district later said, and led a parent to file a complaint over its use of \u201cracial slurs, offensive stereotypes, and degrading classifications of African Americans,\u201d including derogatory references to African Americans\u2019 color, appearance and behavior, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Mother Brenda Thorpe told the board on Monday that the material, presented without context, was harmful to a diverse classroom of students.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy concern has always been the students,\u201d Thorpe said. \u201cThey deserve to understand that racial stereotypes, colorism, the comments about African-Americans&#8230; does not represent the values I teach my daughter, the values of the school or the community.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>A student in the class said the lesson left her feeling \u201cuncomfortable, confused and hurt\u201d as to \u201cwhy language and descriptions like that would be presented in a classroom setting.\u201d She said a white classmate later told her he took the material home and \u201chis family laughed at it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt would have helped all students to understand this language and stereotypes are not acceptable, and should not be presented as a joke,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1215\">Beloved SC special education teacher dies in crash in Spartanburg County<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Board chair Kimberly Snipes clarified that the move would apply only to the controversial, unapproved material, as Hurston\u2019s books used in the lesson plan are instructional material approved by the state. Other requests the parent sought in the complaint, such as a formal apology and an in-class explanation, are beyond what the school board could consider in a review of classroom material.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The restriction was approved by Huddle, Scott Herring, Mike Satterfield and Kevin Scully. Snipes and Jason Baynham voted against.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Courtney Thomas with the American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina also spoke at Monday\u2019s meeting, saying some of what the complainants requested was more coercive than is allowed under the state\u2019s regulations on classroom material, which she said \u201cthe ACLU is not a fan of.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome of the relief sought goes beyond the regulation and leans more on the side of censorship than what the regulation says,\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>But Thomas did agree the district was able to act to remove unapproved material from classroom usage.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want to acknowledge the impact on students,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s clear context was not given and that the material was not approved. I affirm that the district\u2019s actions were appropriate\u201d in its initial response to the complaint.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The offending material 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>Hurston was a Black anthropologist and a celebrated author of the Harlem Renaissance during the 1920s, which was being studied in the class.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The teacher explained to an administrator that the \u201cHarlem Slanguage\u201d transcript was included \u201cto 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 according to a letter subsequently sent to the parent.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1213\">Want to pick SC\u2019s next governor? As polls open, here\u2019s what you should know<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--]--><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lexington-Richland 5 voted 4-2 to limit use of unapproved worksheet with Harlem Slanguage from Zora Neale Hurston after a parent\u2019s complaint about racial slurs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1218,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1219","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>What did Midlands school board decide on racial book controversy? - 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=1219\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What did Midlands school board decide on racial book controversy? 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