Tell Tennessee school board to lift its ban on graphic novel about the Holocaust
McMinn County School Board
Maus, a Pulitzer Prize winning graphic novel about the Holocaust, was banned by the McMinn County Board of Education in Tennessee.
The graphic novel is age-appropriate material provided to 8th grade students in an educational context.
This is the same dangerous thinking that has lead to students being deprived the opportunity to learn about a range of issues including racial and gender-based discrimination in the classroom. Some politicians and other officials want to whitewash history, and prevent students from accessing material that deals honestly and accurately with our complicated social history.
As the US Holocaust Museum wrote “Maus has played a vital role in educating about the Holocaust through sharing detailed and personal experiences of victims and survivors. On the eve of International #HolocaustRemembranceDay, it is more important than ever for students to learn this history.”
As parents, grandparents, students, and advocates for teaching tolerance and peace we urge the McMinn County Board of Education to lift the ban on Maus and discourage school boards nationwide from future efforts to hide important, age-appropriate educational materials from our children.
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To:
McMinn County School Board
From:
[Your Name]
Please lift the ban on Maus. We should not hide the reality of the Holocaust and other past atrocities from students because doing so would deny our children from having age-appropriate educational opportunities to learn from past injustices. When schools ban books meant to teach tolerance and peace the entire community suffers a loss.