How Book Ban Silencing Led to Finding My Student Voice

By Edha Gupta

On August 29th, 2021, an email was sent out from the Central York School District to the faculty and staff of the Central York School District, stating that over three hundred books had been banned from use in the classroom and had been taken off the shelves of the libraries. This was
in response to teachers creating a Diversity Resource List after the George Floyd murder the year before, to serve as a standing resource for teachers in the classroom to refer to. The intention of this list was to provide students with a better understanding of issues such as LGBTQIA+ rights, civil rights, and the movements of the past that brought queer activism and
civil rights activism to what it is today. Books on this list were all-encapsulating. The books that were banned from use in this school district were appalling for this reason.

Most were books at the elementary reading level like Who is Sonia Sotomayor?, Who is Michele Obama?, and Who is Rosa Parks? Dr. Suess’s books like Green Eggs and Ham translated into Spanish were banned. Books that talked about embracing, valuing, and teaching children about diversity were banned. I am Enough by Grace Byers. All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold. Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry. The list goes on and on, but the singular thread that connected all these books was that either they were written by an author of color or they showcased a character of color– most often both.

This was heartbreaking for me to witness because so many of these books on this list would have single-handedly had the power to change my perspective of myself in my K-12 schooling. Instead of being one of the only Indian-American girls in my schooling who felt I had to suppress my intersectional identities to be able to take up space, I would feel pride in my heritage and in my upbringing. Having this type of representation would not just mean I would be able to love myself, but my peers would be able to see me. The ignorance that surrounded my everyday life would vanish with representation and education, and my K-12 experience would be that much
richer.

So to see steps taken in the opposite direction, to make marginalized students feel even more isolated in the spaces that they were taught in was unacceptable to me. After twelve years of education in this district and facing mockery of Indian-American accents, ridicule of traditional
clothing, the smell of food, my religion, and my language, I felt as though expressing my culture had become a divisive topic in my schooling. I decided it was better to make myself feel smaller and less different if it meant that I did not have to be forced to feel smaller. I internalized the
hate and changed my exterior to represent that. I would only eat American food at school, never mention my cultural heritage or identity, and I performed for twelve years. I never felt whole, as I constantly divided the Indian and American parts of my identity.

The cost of social isolation seemed too high at school. I lived with the constant fear of being outcasted merely for the color of my skin, and the heritage that I had. So in the culmination of all these emotions, when the decision for this ban came out I was close to tears. Not only was I angry with this board for feeling entitled to make a decision independently that would harm the lives of hundreds of kids in this district, but I was also angry with myself for taking so many years of abuse. I have since joined the parts of myself that were divided, but why would hundreds of young children and adults have to reject a part of their heritage or identity? It
enraged me to think of another young Indian-American girl sulking into herself when asked to perform at the diversity celebration because she knew she would be made fun of, or try to hide her Indian American clothing in public. The shame and embarrassment that I felt for 12 years
transformed into a healthy rage that made it my personal duty to combat this decision in any way that I could. After the lack of diversity and representation the curricula already held, the board’s willingness to push the line further for what types of lack of diversity were acceptable
was infuriating. I knew I had to do something. I knew I had to take action. Not for me, but to save generations of students being schooled in this district. If this decision was able to pass in secret with no adversity, what else would this district be willing to do? What would they ban next? I could not live with myself without doing something.

Unsurprisingly, the first step to our advocacy was forming a coalition of students and informing others of what was going on. We advocated the Panther Anti-Racist Union, which founder Ben Hodge had created in 2020 after the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement in the media. Advisors Ben Hodge and Patricia Jackson along with students Christina Ellis, Olivia Pituch, and Renee Ellis all stood on the frontlines with me to reverse this decision. The decision to ban these books was made secretly and by a few board members and a few parents. First, we had to tell students what was going on. We advertised a blackout on social media, where students wore black to school the Friday after the decision came out to show their disapproval of the ban. Black shirts flooded the hallways in herds, indicative that a lack of communication from the board would not hinder the student body from vocalizing their disdain for the decision. Students
were not happy with this attack on their education, and they wanted to show their support. After we had used social media initially to educate students on what was going on, we started daily protests before school for fifteen minutes on September 7th. These protests were held a few times per week and students spent hours making signs that said things like “Education is not indoctrination” “My voice matters” and “African American History is American History.” Although we expected little to no turnout for our first meeting, we ended up with close to 30 people. The
numbers kept rising in the two weeks that we continued to protest, with at most around 50 to 60 students present at these protests.

As we were protesting, our means of advocacy became variable. We started speaking to the media on a daily basis, spoke at board meetings every week, and held community protests and community-wide book drives. The community protests garnered 200 people in attendance, there were thousands of books donated, and there were public comments at board meetings that took hours to get through. We started letting people know what was going on, and they were not happy with this decision.

Eventually after two weeks of continuous advocacy, national media attention, speaking to political leaders, and tireless activism, the ban was reversed on September 20th. Unfortunately, the notorious track record of book banning by Central York was added to after a new book ban
arose in March of the 2023–2024 academic year. Although most of the leaders of PARU in the year before were now in college, other leaders in the Panther Anti-Racist Union stood up to this injustice. This time, there was controversy over two books: A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J.
Maas, and Push by Sapphire. These books, which have been advertised to teenage readers since their respective releases, were labeled as “pornography” by the school board. This time around, the protesting and the advocacy lasted from March to June, with continuous everyday protests outside the school for 10–15 minutes. This time around as well there were endless board comments and media attention. Thankfully, this time, there was a substantial policy put into place by the board discretely labeling what counts as adult versus childhood literature, and more importantly, a policy stating that books cannot be taken out of the library on the basis of a parent or community member’s disdain. Now, this process is going to happen on an individual basis, and in a discussion with a student and their family. Although this attack on intellectual freedom and the fight for justice was a painstaking one, this policy served as a win for Central students, and the protection of the intellectual freedom of Central students for years to come.

It is important to remember that even though book bans at the Central York School District in York, PA had a success story, book bans and attacks on intellectual freedom around the country are spreading rapidly. School boards are staying set in their decisions, and the right to an equitable and representative education is being infringed upon for students across the country. The Panther Anti-Racist Union is still a functioning club that keeps a vigilant eye on the ongoing curricula and policy formation in the district, and they also advocate on a local level for marginalized communities.

For Christina Ellis, Olivia Pituch, Renee Ellis, and I, as students who protested in 2021 and are now undergraduates, we wanted to continue this journey of advocacy. In our activism, we learned many skills, gained connections, and gathered wisdom to impart to students going
through similar plights. Standing up against a cause can feel isolating. Advocating means making yourself vulnerable, and having a network of students who can relate to your experience is exponentially helpful. That is why we co-founded EmpowerED, an organization that works to build this network and connect with students. We want to further our journey as advocates and have reach nationally.

For students facing these issues who do not know where to start, we can help you. As student veterans of a bigoted school board and district-wide ban, we know how to combat these issues locally and talk to the media nationally. We have developed strategies that we have lived by and
that have brought success to our activism. Now it is our time to help. Students that want to reach EmpowerED should either email us [empowerxedalliance@gmail.com] or DM us on Instagram!

We are the generation of change, and the change starts with us. We have to take power over our education. I hope that we can be your example to start advocating, stay perseverant, or get involved. It is worth it. By standing up, you are changing the lives of many. We are standing here with you.

Edha Gupta is a 19-year-old activist who served as the president of the Panther Anti-Racist Union during the 2021–2022 school year. Edha, fellow officers, and advisors successfully protested a school board decision to ban over 300+ books on diversity education throughout the Central York School District. Through activism and advocacy, Edha worked with her peers to promote diversity and inclusion in their school and community. By sharing the power of her story as an Indian-American, Edha hopes to inspire young activists to make a difference through impactful change, resulting in memorable and long-lasting change in education and throughout the country. Edha has co-founded an organization named EmpowerED with a few of her peers, with the mission to aid students across the country who are combating similar attacks on their education. She is also a sophomore at the University of Pittsburgh majoring in Neuroscience minoring in Sociology, and she hopes to advocate for equity in medicine in her future.