In 2022, a grandmother in Catawba County, North Carolina, asked the county’s school board to remove 24 books from the district’s libraries. Her request was part of a wave of book challenges across the country.
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In 2022, concerned community member Michelle Teague asked that the Catawba County School Board remove 24 books from the district’s school libraries. Claiming that these books contained explicit content that she felt children should not be exposed to. Now these books as well as many more are being challenged in libraries across the country.
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Several of the 24 books Michelle Teague challenged in Catawba County Schools have been challenged in other school systems across the country.
Virginia Annable, Lee Enterprises
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Catawba County Schools Board of Education member and book challenger Michelle Teague prepares her notes for a presentation in March 2024 on why she wanted Jodi Picoult's "Nineteen Minutes" removed from school libraries.
Contributed by Robert C. Reed
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Catawba County Schools Board of Education Chairman Jeff Taylor asks deputies to escort someone out of a book hearing in March 2024.
Contributed by Robert C. Reed
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Virginia Annable is a member of Lee Enterprises' Public Service Journalism Team based in the east region. Find Virginia on Twitter @annablevl or reach out at vannable@lee.net .
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