Georgia school district defends pulling 'sexually explicit' book depicting child rape amid 'censorship' claims

A Georgia school district has removed Toni Morrison’s "The Bluest Eye" from its public school libraries, citing graphic depictions of child rape and incest in the award-winning novel.

The book joins over 30 other titles removed by Cobb County, Georgia’s second-largest school district, since 2023 as part of an effort to remove sexually explicit material from K-12 media centers.

District leaders say the move is intended to protect students and give parents more control over what their kids are exposed to, while free-speech advocates argue the removal amounts to censorship and limits students’ access to literature.

"We're no more banning the book than we are banning rated-R movies.

It's just that we are removing those with sexually explicit content and allowing our parents to make those decisions for their families," Cobb County Superintendent Chris Ragsdale told Fox News Digital .

OREGON SCHOOL COUNSELOR FACES BACKLASH OVER 'CHOSEN FAMILY' BOOK FOR YOUTHS Ragsdale said district colleagues brought the book to his attention because of concerns about excerpts dealing with sexual topics.

At a board meeting , Ragsdale read aloud one explicit passage that depicts the rape of an 11-year-old girl by her father.

"Both as a father and as a superintendent, I think about a parent having to explain to their sixth-grade daughter after she encounters explicit descriptions of child incest and rape in a book provided at school, without parents' knowledge," Ragsdale said in the book removal announcement posted online.

"As the superintendent responsible for the instruction of 100,000 students, I do not have the luxury of making that decision for other parents and their children," he added.

The district announced the book would join dozens of others removed from school shelves, including the popular "A Court of Thorns and Roses" series, "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," "Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl," and "Thirteen Reasons Why." The latter was eventually adapted into a Netflix series about a high school girl who dies by suicide.

ALASKA STATE FAIR BARS PARENTAL RIGHTS GROUP DUE TO 'EXTREMIST' GROUP DESIGNATION BY FAR-LEFT ORGANIZATION District officials said other works by Toni Morrison remain available in Cobb County schools.

The district says its removals target books containing sexually explicit passages.

Ragsdale acknowledged the author’s award-winning status, but argued that awards do not mean a book belongs in every K-12 school library.

He said books containing sexually explicit material are subject to a separate administrative review process, rather than Georgia’s standard process for parent challenges.