former teacher for Edsel Ford High School<\/span><\/a>. He has been a vocal critic of Butler\u2019s advocacy. In a statement, he derides Butler\u2019s approach to the issue, saying that if someone doesn\u2019t want to read about it, then they shouldn\u2019t deprive it from someone who does. Bruce also accuses Butler of pushing what he sees as the parent\u2019s responsibility onto the school board.<\/p>\nBruce\u2019s main point in a Facebook post was that this deprives LGBT+ students from learning about themselves at best, while it may actually be demonizing LGBT+ students in front of parents like Butler.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe students who fall into the LGBTQ+ population have been further demonized, maligned and vilified by both the perpetrator [Butler] and the School Board,\u201d Bruce said. \u201cIn removing books about them, you have made it clear that THEIR books are cause for concern. That they might somehow tatter the moral fiber of the students who read them and that, indeed the LGBTQ+ students themselves are somehow part of that moral decline themselves.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is both unfair and despicable. Don\u2019t bother trying to tell me that is not your intent. Your intent here is irrelevant because the negative light that has been thrust upon both the students and the situation clearly says otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mayor of Dearborn Abdullah Hammoud has released a statement in response to the protests. In his statement, he sees the situation as not about protecting children, but about limiting freedoms of expression and access to information.<\/p>\n
\u201cNationally, we have witnessed attempts to restrict access to information and literary works. But make no mistake; at their core, these are attempts to limit our freedom and it will not stop there,\u201d said Mayor Hammoud. \u201cThe same ideology that once considered people like me \u201ca problem\u201d in Dearborn is now being revived under the guise of preserving \u201cliberty.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
Needless to say, the response to his statement has been mixed, with many applauding what they see as a clear-headed response to the political cause of book-banning entering Dearborn\u2019s schools. Others who are in support of banning the LGBT+ books had other things to say.<\/p>\n
In the end, Mayor Hammoud cannot direct the school district on its practices. However, he made a promise to not remove any books from the city\u2019s libraries.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs mayor, it is my responsibility to ensure our children have the tools to create their own future,\u201d Hammoud said. \u201cOur libraries serve as a gateway to knowledge, a gateway to imagination, and a gateway to possibility. When it comes to our city\u2019s libraries, for the sake of our children, no book will be removed off the shelves.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
As a small aside, the Yemeni American News looked at a few select books in Dearborn Public Schools. One such book, Mein Kampf \u2013 which is Adolf Hitler\u2019s manifesto that advocates for a fascist society in which racial minorities are subjugated \u2013 remains not only unchallenged by Butler, but also currently checked out by a student of Dearborn Public Schools as of Sept. 29. <\/em><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\nWant to talk further about the books, or book banning? Reach out to our reporter, Simon Albaugh at simonalbaugh@gmail.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Simon Albaugh \u2013 Yemeni American News Dearborn, Mich. \u2013 On Sept. 25, hundreds of demonstrators gathered around Dearborn Centennial Library to protest what, in their view, were inappropriate books for high school students in Dearborn Public Schools. Stephanie Butler, one of the organizers of the protest, has been going to Dearborn Board of Education […]","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":6268,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-news","category-local","category-report"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6264","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6264"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6264\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6269,"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6264\/revisions\/6269"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}