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TIVERTON - Profanity, drug references and the vilification of police were issues a parent raised with a book that was a part of a ninth-grade English curriculum at Tiverton High School.

"All American Boys," a 2015 young adult novel by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely, was "inspired by recent controversial events and the national firestorm over police brutality," according to a description of the book on Kiely's website.

The lives of Rashad Butler, a young Black man, and Quinn Collins, a young white man, "are forever changed by an act of extreme police brutality," the book description on Kiely's website says.
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"As a black man and a white man, both writers and educators, we came together to cowrite a book about how systemic racism and police brutality affect the lives of young people in America, in order to create an important, unique, and honest work that would give young people and the people who educate them a tool for talking about these difficult but absolutely vital conversations," Reynolds and Kiely said in a joint statement on Kiely's website.

'Let's not teach our children to vilify the people we trust and pay to keep us safe'

At the Tiverton School Committee meeting on Tuesday night, Dustin Hemling, the parent of a freshman student, said he read the book and encouraged "everybody else to do the same" before he shared his perspective.

Hemling, who spoke calmly throughout, said "All American Boys" is currently ranked third on a list of "most challenged books" by the American Library Association. He also noted "The Hate U Give," by Angie Thomas, is on the list.

Every year, the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom "compiles a list of the Top 10 Most Challenged Books in order to inform the public about censorship in libraries and schools," the ALA website says. "The lists are based on information from media stories and voluntary reports sent to OIF from communities across the U.S."
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"The Top 10 lists are only a snapshot of book challenges. Surveys indicate that 82-97% of book challenges - documented requests to remove materials from schools or libraries - remain unreported and receive no media," the website says.

"All American Boys" ranks third on the 2020 list for "profanity, drug use, and alcoholism, and because it was thought to promote anti-police views, contain divisive topics," according to the ALA website.

"Why does Tiverton have books being taught in school that are on the Top 10 Most Challenged Books in the United States?" Hemling asked. "I mean, it's a fair question. With thousands of books to choose from, why did we choose these?"
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"If my child was caught using the language in this book, or referencing drug and alcohol abuse in the school hallway, would there be disciplinary action taken? The answer is unequivocally yes, and there should be," Hemling said. "But apparently 13- and 14-year-olds reading (it) in class, listening to an audio book is acceptable. Is this the district's current stance?"

Hemling read one excerpt with profanity and drug references. In closing, he read another excerpt, in which a character says that monsters "hide in plain sight with uniforms and badges."

"Let's not teach our children to vilify the people we trust and pay to keep us safe," Hemling said. "Why don't we teach them that 99% of the men and women in uniform would throw themselves into harm's way to protect them without question? I'm very proud of what I did during my 14 years of law enforcement, and I know from a real-world, firsthand experience who these men and women are, and I can assure you that they're not monsters. We can do better, we have to be better."

'The main theme of the novel is standing up for what is right'
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Sara Gray, an English teacher at the high school, explained why she chose "All American Boys" for her curriculum, later noting that "due to new state mandates ... this book it not a part of that curriculum anymore."

Emails to Gray and Tiverton Superintendent Peter Sanchioni seeking clarification of the state mandates were not returned Wednesday.

The Daily News asked Victor Morente, communications director with the Rhode Island Department of Education, about Gray's reference to new state mandates. In an email, Morente referred a reporter to the RIDE website, noting in particular a 2019 law that requires RIDE to support local education agencies "in the selection and implementation of curriculum materials."

Gray said five years ago, "in an effort to increase my students' interest in reading in my college prep-level classes," she looked for a contemporary novel to pair with the classic "To Kill a Mockingbird." She consulted a colleague and educational resources before choosing "All American Boys," mentioning the numerous accolades Reynolds has won.

"The main theme of the novel is standing up for what is right, no matter how difficult that may be, a theme that is also at the forefront in 'To Kill a Mockingbird,'" Gray said.

To address the concern of profanity in the book: "While I do not condone vulgar language, in my classroom or my home for that matter, to pretend it doesn't exist is not the role of a high school teacher," Gray said. "I am certainly not teaching this language or exposing students to vocabulary they're unfamiliar with, however it provides an opportunity for a discussion ... and the effects of inappropriate language, and it makes the book relatable."

"Because like it or not, this is how some students speak when they are not in the company of their parents, other adults, role models and teachers," Gray said. "The same applies for the brief mention of underage drinking. When caught by his mother, the message is sent to the character that this is unacceptable behavior. Is underage drinking a reality for some? Absolutely. Am I exposing students to something they don't know exists? Absolutely not."

"Not only is this novel enjoyed by a majority of students, it highlights important and controversial topics that are best acknowledged in a classroom," Gray continued. "I've taken the time to comb through the vast resources available for teaching this book to provide my students with a productive reading experience where no race, gender or occupation is targeted. Rather a running discussion is held about individuals acting alone and perspective and a deep look at character and motivation."

Gray noted "To Kill a Mockingbird" also made the 2020 list of "most challenged" books. "The previous year, 'Harry Potter' was on this list," and The Holy Bible's made the list, too, she said.

"I am proud to have chosen this book to be read in my classroom," Gray said.

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'Challenged' novel on police brutality sparks discussion at Tiverton School Committee meeting

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A parent aired his concerns over the book All American Boys, and the teacher of the classes responded.

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It's art imitating life, really. All American Boys is a young adult novel that looks at a specific instance of police brutality from the perspectives of two high school classmates: Rashad, who is savagely beaten by a local policeman who (wrongly) suspects him of shoplifting and assaulting a white woman, and Quinn, who sees the beating and initially pretends he didn't. It's a fictional reflection of real-life police encounters with young black men that ended badly.

Co-authors Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely had written young-adult books separately for publisher Simon and Schuster when they were asked to go on a group tour of male authors. The two, both New Yorkers, ended up sharing a room, and while they were on the road, George Zimmerman was acquitted of the murder of Trayvon Martin.

Reynolds, who is African American, remembers what it was like being on tour at that time. "I'm angry and I'm frustrated and I'm sort of wrought with emotion - and I'm traveling and living with a stranger," he says. A white stranger at that.

They got to talking about it all, and it turned out Kiely was experiencing similar feelings. "He was as frustrated as angry and as confused as I was," says Reynolds. They talked themselves into a genuine friendship, where race was often a topic of conversation.

The conversation became even more urgent the following August, when Michael Brown was killed in Ferguson. "That was the final straw," Reynolds remembers. Brendan came to me and said 'Look man, I can't take it anymore. We have to do something. Will you write this book with me? Can we do this thing together?'"

The result is a story about racial profiling and police brutality that makes Rashad a rallying cry against police brutality.

In the book, after Rashad's beating - which was captured on cell phones by onlookers and spread virally through social media - he recuperates in the hospital. He's appalled to find himself the center of attention, in a spotlight he doesn't want. Supporters in his high school and around town take up the cause with a phrase that is graffiti'ed on sidewalks and the town's walls: Rashad Is Absent Again Today.

Meanwhile, Quinn wrestles with what he's seen. It's complicated by the fact that the cop who beat Rashad is a close family friend - his best friend's big brother. Quinn can't believe the man he knows would beat anyone if the person on the receiving end didn't deserve it. He's always seen police as protectors. He wants the whole thing to just go away.

Brendan Kiely, the co-author of All American Boys, wanted Quinn to not have that option. Quinn, he says "has to acknowledge [the beating] and see it. That's a metaphor for him and, I think, for many of us in America, especially those of us who are white and who have escaped this kind of brutality." Kiely says sympathetic white people "have to recognize that we do have a role to play."

Ultimately Quinn has to make a decision, one that may cost him something in the near future: friends, a missed opportunity for a scholarship, etc. How he resolves that is at the heart of All American Boys.

Kiely says as he and Reynolds cross the country on tour, the book has really resonated in inner-cities, especially the city they both live in: "In New York City, a place where stop and frisk has been a policy in place for many years, there were kids who'd come to school every day, or leave school every day, and experience this kind of racial profiling."

In another city, he said, "We got a question from a kid who said 'What can a young white person do who knows this is wrong, but just doesn't feel I have a way into this?'"

Jason Reynolds believes that even as many adults shy away from talking about race, their kids are anxious to have that conversation. "No matter what the adults say, nine times out of ten, the kids are ready to talk."

All American Boys may help them get there.
Note: this excerpt contains strong language.

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'All American Boys': A Young Adult Book About A Police Beating And A Hard Choice

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A new young adult book tells the story of a police beating from two perspectives: the black boy who was beaten, and a white boy who witnessed it.

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JAN. 4, 2024 - Starting today, readers across the country will have unlimited access to the award-winning young adult bestseller All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely as part of The New York Public Library's nationwide Teen Banned Book Club.

All American Boys,which is the second Teen Banned Book Club selection in NYPL's Books for All campaign, will be freely available across the U.S. through February 29, 2024. The "Books for All" campaign, which is the longest and largest Banned Books campaign in NYPL history, extends across the country and throughout the school year and focuses heavily on teen readers in recognition of the fact that the majority of books targeted for bans and challenges are books for young people.

Anyone over the age of 13 can download the title, whether or not they have a New York Public Library card, without wait times through the Library's free e-reader app, SimplyE. The book, which has won the Walter Dean Myers Award and is a Coretta Scott King Award Honoree, tells the story of two teens, one Black and one white, and explores the experiences and themes of systemic racism and police brutality.

A virtual authors' talk with both Reynolds and Kiely will take place on Wednesday, February 21, 2024, at 3 PM ET, one of the many events the Library will be hosting in honor of Black History Month.

"We are excited to be offering readers across the country this award-winning book as part of our 'Books for All' campaign, underscoring the importance of reading and access to knowledge for all. At a time of rising book bans and challenges, The New York Public Library is proud to stand with library workers and communities across the country who are being censored and threatened. Thank you to Simon & Schuster for partnering with us to make 'All American Boys' freely available to all, and thank you to the American Library Association for getting the word out to libraries all over the country about our campaign. Book-banning is an affront to our democracy, but by standing together we can fight censorship and protect the freedom to read," said NYPL President Anthony W. Marx.

"The digital release of All American Boys isn't just an accomplishment for me. As a matter of fact, I'd argue that I look at it as less of an accomplishment and more as a necessity to ensure this book and others are accessible, by any and all means. In a world where our work is being muted, and therefore our young people's minds are being muzzled, I'm just honored to be part of the fight," said Jason Reynolds, author of All American Boys.

In a video to Library patrons which will be posted on social media to coincide with the launch, co-authors Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely noted that book bans are rising across the country, particularly targeting books for young people, and shared they "are delighted our book, All-American Boys, is being made freely available for anyone in the U.S. for NYPL's Teen Banned Book Club."

The first selection for the book club was the highly-acclaimed Each of Us a Desert by Mark Oshiro, who joined the Library's Teen Reading Ambassadors for a live streamed author talk on November 28, 2023. The next book club pick will be announced in the spring.

NYPL's Books for All campaign launched in October 2023 during Banned Books Week in response to the alarming rise of book bans and challenges throughout the country, which have significantly impacted young adults, and to underscore the vital role that public libraries play in our democracy. The Library partnered with the American Library Association (ALA), the foremost national organization representing the nation's 123,000 libraries, and the ALA's Unite Against Book Bans campaign to get the word out about Books for All across the country.

Free digital access to All American Boys has been made possible through the generosity of Simon & Schuster. There will also be access to physical copies of book club books for checkout at all branches in the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island (the boroughs served by NYPL). Select branches will host in-person book club events and all branches will have limited quantities ofthe book for giveaways. For more information on the book clubs, head to https://www.nypl.org/spotlight/books-for-all/teen-book-club.

As part of the Books for All campaign, The New York Public Library also ran a nationwide teen writing contest, in partnership with 826 National, that asked teens: "Why is the freedom to read important to you?" The contest closed on December 29, 2023, by which time the Library had received 481 essays from teens across the country. The grand prize-winning entry will be published in Teen Vogue later this spring and its author will receive $500. Twenty finalists will also receive a $250 prize, and all winners will have their essays shared in a special issue of NYPL's Teen Voices magazine.

The New York Public Library (NYPL) and the American Library Association (ALA) have also made available free downloadable tool kits to enable people and library systems all over the country to participate in Books for All" in their own communities. The kits, which have thus far been downloaded by libraries, educators, and readers in 48 states, feature a "How to Get Involved" guide about ways to fight book bans, book discussion guides, button maker templates and photo props with slogans like "I Read Banned Books," "Read Freely," and "Protect the Freedom to Read."

"I don't see people who look like me and talk like me in the books at my school library in Fort Worth, Texas and this problem is only getting worse as we operate under the shadow of HB900. Hundreds of books have already been pulled in anticipation of the law going into effect. For someone who loves books as much as I do, it is simply heartbreaking. Everyone deserves to have access to books where they see themselves, and have their identity affirmed. To deny us that is to deny us our humanity. I am proud to stand with The New York Public Library and the American Library Association to unite against book bans and the coordinated efforts to erase identities like mine. Together, we can fight censorship and the silencing of voices," said Banned Books Week 2023 Youth Honorary Chair Da'Taeveyon Daniels.

"Libraries and the literature they hold have always been a portal into a different world, as well as a way to imagine a tangible new one. Banning books is the threat of banning histories, people, and dreams. We must all stand firm in our opposition to the silencing of our authentic stories. You cannot ban marginalized people. We will always be here, and we demand that our literature and art be here too," said Stephanie Pacheco, New York City Youth Poet Laureate and Inaugural New York State Youth Poet Laureate

The Library's latest banned books campaign builds on our earlier efforts fighting censorship, including our previous Books for All (April 2022) and the Banned Books Challenge (June 2022), which was done in collaboration with Brooklyn and Queens Public Libraries.
About Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster is a global leader in general interest publishing, dedicated to providing the best in fiction and nonfiction for readers of all ages, and in all printed, digital and audio formats. Its distinguished roster of authors includes many of the world's most popular and widely recognized writers, and winners of the most prestigious literary honors and awards. It is home to numerous well-known imprints and divisions such as Simon & Schuster, Scribner, Atria Books, Gallery Books, Adams Media, Avid Reader Press, Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing and Simon & Schuster Audio and international companies in Australia, Canada, India and the United Kingdom, and proudly brings the works of its authors to readers in more than 200 countries and territories. For more information visit our website at www.simonandschuster.com.
About the American Library Association
The American Library Association (ALA) is the foremost national organization providing resources to inspire library and information professionals to transform their communities through essential programs and services. For more than 140 years, the ALA has been the trusted voice for academic, public, school, government, and special libraries, advocating for the profession and the library's role in enhancing learning and ensuring access to information for all. For more information, visit the ALA website at ALA.org.
About Unite Against Book Bans
Unite Against Book Bans is a national initiative launched by ALA in April 2022 to empower readers everywhere to stand together in the fight against censorship. With more than 200 partner organizations and tens of thousands of individual supporters, the campaign connects, equips and mobilizes the public to advocate in their communities for the right to read and to defeat attempts at at every level of government to censor reading material. Learn more and join the campaign at uniteagainstbookbans.org/take-action/.
About The New York Public Library
For over 125 years, The New York Public Library has been a free provider of education and information for the people of New York and beyond. With over 90 locations-including research and branch libraries-throughout the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island, the Library offers free materials, computer access, classes, exhibitions, programming and more to everyone from toddlers to scholars. To offer this wide array of free programming, The New York Public Library relies on both public and private funding. Learn more about how to support the Library at nypl.org/support.

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The New York Public Library Continues Its Nationwide "Books For All: Teen Banned Book Club" with All American Boys | The New York Public Library

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JAN. 4, 2024 - Starting today, readers across the country will have unlimited access to the award-winning young adult bestseller All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely as part of The New York Public Library's nationwide Teen Banned Book Club.

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Two authors collaborated to write a nuanced novel from the perspectives of two young men—Rashad, who is Black, and Quinn, who is white. The novel gives teachers a powerful tool to discuss police brutality and racism with students.