Cllrs refuse to back removal of book that 'addresses racial injustice'

Meath County Council is to ask the Department of Education to review all literature that has no place in today’s curriculum, and the delivery of the curriculum.

The motion, with two amendments, arose out of Cllr Alan Lawes original submission that "Meath Co Council calls on the Department of Education to remove all literature from the school curriculum that casually and repeatedly uses offensive racial language, such as ‘To Kill A Mocking Bird’ and ‘Of Mice and Men’ which have no place in today’s curriculum." Councillors at the Meath County Council July meeting did not agree with Cllr Lawes' motion. He said he had been approached by parents of multi-ethnic pupils who experienced racism as a result of the book being studied at secondary school.

Cllr Gerry O’Connor suggested an amendment calling for a review rather than a removal of the books.

However, Cllr Ronan Moore, a secondary school teacher who teaches the books, said that he is sorry that the parents felt that way about the books, but that it may reflect how the book was being taught, and how the school dealt with the complaints.

"The books in question are books that help people understand racial inequality and racial discrimination," he said, asking that the line about ‘offensive racial language’ be removed from the motion.

Cllr Noel French said: "The Nazis started by banning books, then by burning them."

Cllr Yemi Adenuga said that for her, the issue is not the book, it’s about how it’s taught.

"We need to help the teachers understand the message it is trying to get across," she stated. Cllr Nick Killian, the chairman of the Louth Meath Education and Training Board, said that ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee was written to expose racial injustice to an America that "couldn’t see it then, and can’t see it now."