A better understanding of social issues вЂ“ not just basic reading, writing, and вЂrithmetic вЂ“ is what makes for a well-rounded education. вЂњThese attempts to ignore or gloss over complex issues do a disservice to our students, who cannot lead our future unless they fully understand the past and present.вЂќДiscouraging students from learning about complex issues like racism and abuse вЂ“ issues our young Ohioans sometimes face in their own lives вЂ“ is not beneficial to our future leaders. вЂњUnfortunately there is a long and troubling tradition of attacking African American literature on the grounds that it is вЂtoo controversialвЂ™ for young people,вЂќ said ACLU of Ohio Executive Director Christine Link. The ACLU of Ohio has challenged these remarks by issuing a letter to Ohio Board of Education President Debe Terhar. However, recent remarks from Ohio Board of Education members threaten to remove it from that list. It has been revered enough to be placed on a reading list at Ohio schools, as part of the Common Core Curriculum, suggested for 11 th grade reading and comprehension. Though Pecola is a fictional character, her life is, sadly, relatable for many young women.Д¬ontroversial subject matter in The Bluest Eye has been both acclaimed and criticized. The story portrays the struggles and abuses endured by Pecola over the course of a year. Her alcoholic father rapes her, and eventually she becomes pregnant. She is a quiet girl with parents who are constantly fighting and telling her she is ugly, thus fueling her desire to be a beautiful white girl with blue eyes. The novelвЂ™s main character Pecola Breedlove is a young African American girl living in post-Depression Lorain, Ohio. Reading about these issues, especially in the school setting, is not something that has historically sat well with some Americans who tend to want our children to learn only about subjects that are вЂњgood,вЂќ while shielding them from the вЂњbad.вЂќ Unfortunately, this puts The Bluest Eye in the category of вЂњbad.вЂќ African American authors like Morrison have long been censored for writing about contentious subjects. Read Wilmington College professor Laura Struve's piece, Here Is WhatвЂ™s Wrong With Banning The Bluest Eye Take Action! Stand up for Toni Morrison and stop the promotion of censorship in Ohio schools. Ohio Board of Education President Debe Terhar labeled the novel вЂњ pornographic.вЂќД«oard member Mark Smith traveled back to the 1950s for his rhetoric, calling the novel part of вЂњ an underlying socialist-communist agenda.вЂќ

This week, members of the Ohio Board of Education criticized one of the literary works of fellow Ohioan and acclaimed author Toni Morrison for being вЂњtotally inappropriate.вЂќ They do not want Ohio 11 th graders to read MorrisonвЂ™s novel The Bluest Eye because it references rape, among other controversial issues.

Setting of the bluest eye