Volume Vamoosed in Jefe Heave-Ho
The American Civil Liberties Union is challenging Miami-Dade school district's decision to eliminate an apparently pro-Castro book for kids aged five to seven from schools. The district is also culling books on Mexico, Greece, and Vietnam:
The ACLU and the Miami-Dade County Student Government Association argued in a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Miami on Wednesday that the school board should add materials with alternate viewpoints rather than remove books that could be offensive.
Last week, the board voted 6-3 to remove "Vamos a Cuba" and its English-language version, "A Visit to Cuba" from 33 schools, stating the books were inappropriate for young readers because of inaccuracies and omissions about life in the communist nation.
The book, by Alta Schreier, targets students ages 5 to 7 and contains images of smiling children wearing uniforms of Cuba's communist youth group and a carnival celebrating the 1959 Cuban revolution. The district owns 49 copies of the book in Spanish and English.
The removal came at the request of Juan Amador Rodriguez, a resident who was imprisoned under the Castro regime.
I have no strong opinion on the matter, though I suppose the district is within its rights in getting rid of the books. Locals weigh in at the Miami Herald here.