The biographical drama, which iscurrently streaming on Disney+, tells the story of Bridges, who was “subjected to the true ugliness of racism for the first time” when she was chosen to integrate her local school, according to an official description of the film.
Although the film will not be shown to students at the St. Petersburg school while a review of the film is conducted, it has not been removed from all schools. “The movie remains available through the district’s licensed movie library,” the spokesperson said.
There is no timeline on when the review will be finished, according toThe Washington Post.
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In an open letter, the president of the Concerned Organization for Quality Education for Black Students, expressed concern about the school district’s actions, according to theTimes.
“Many from historically marginalized communities are asking whether this so-called integrated education system in Pinellas County can even serve the diverse community fairly and equitably,“Ric Davis wrote in the letter, per the outlet. “At the highest level of decision-making in the district, they have to have more sensitivity to the diversity of the community they serve, and not overreact because one white person objected to something.”
The latest controversy came after Toni Morrison’sThe Bluest Eyewas banned from all high schools in the district earlier this year after a complaint from a parent over a two-page rape scene in the book, per theTimes.
The newspaper reported that at the time, officials cited a new state law to “err on the side of caution” when choosing what books to use in school.
Others have criticized the latest actions of the school district as well, with U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Democrat, calling it an erasure of history.
“How can it be that a Black child once needed police escorts to attend class, yet students today must be shielded from this truth?” Wasserman Schultz wrote on social media. “Shameful.”
In another message, the Florida Freedom to Read Project wrote that “racism & discrimination are not new concepts in K5 for many kids.”
“If the topic is relevant to a child’s life, then it is age appropriateto teach the topic,” they added.
source: people.com
