A Florida school banned an adaptation of Anne Frank's diary because Moms for Liberty deemed it 'sexually explicit'
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- A Florida school removed a graphic novel adaptation of Anne Frank's diary from its library shelves.
- A parents group, Moms of Liberty, said it had "sexually explicit" content, according to WPTV.
- Anne Frank's original diary remains in the high school's library.
A school in Florida removed a graphic novel adaptation of Anne Frank's diary from its library shelves this week after a group of parents complained about its "sexually explicit" content.
The book, entitled "Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Adaptation," was removed from the Vero Beach High School library in Indian River County after a group called Moms for Liberty expressed concerns, according to local news outlet WPTV.
"We think true history absolutely needs to be taught, the Holocaust, the Anne Frank diary," Jennifer Pippin, who chairs the Indian River County chapter of Moms For Liberty, told WPTV.
Pippin argued the book contains illustrations where Frank walks along sexually explicit nude statues, as well as a "graphic scene" where Frank asks a friend to expose themselves to one another.
After the group complained, the school judged some of the book did not "contribute to the themes of Holocaust education."
"The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank was published in 1947 — a collection of diary entries the teenager kept when her family was in hiding from the Nazis in Amsterdam during World War II. Frank died in a Nazi concentration camp in 1945.
Frank's original diary remains in the Vero Beach High School library, Dr. Kyra Schafte, the director of academic compliance and equity for the district, told WPTV.
"When districts address Holocaust education, it does so without denying or minimizing the events of Holocaust education," Schafte said.
The removed version was adapted by Ari Folman, the son of Holocaust survivors, and illustrated by David Polonsky. According to local news outlet TCPalm, Frank's original diary does contain an entry where she asks a friend about showing each other their bodies and about her feelings when she sees statues in an art history book.
Moms for Liberty — a nationwide conservative nonprofit that seeks to "stand up for parental rights" — has deep ties to the Republican Party, according to Media Matters.
Pippin said her group has around 250 titles they hope to challenge in the future, as the district's newly-formed "District Objection Committee" met for the first time this week. The committee, made up of nine people, will convene if there are distinct-wide challenges to books deemed inappropriate.
This comes as a de facto book banning has been a subject of controversy in Florida after the passing of Governor Ron DeSantis' Stop WOKE Act and other educational policies that allow the removal of books considered not acceptable under the conservative legislation.
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Monday, April 10, 2023
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