Althea Carr left Hebron鈥檚 Juneteenth celebration with a full heart. More than 125 people were in attendance, when they were only expecting 60. But Carr, who is the president of The Coalition on Diversity and Equity (CoDE), which operates out of Tolland County, was distracted by something else.
鈥淚t left everyone feeling just wonderful, just very joyous, very happy. And yet, I couldn't help thinking about how CoDE's attempt to donate award winning multicultural books to the Hebron elementary school system was rejected,鈥� Carr said.
CoDE was founded by Hebron residents in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd. They hoped the organization would help foster a more diverse and inclusive environment in Tolland County.
In the spring of 2024, CoDE鈥檚 Education Chair Christi Moraga, a career teacher who has served on multiple national book award committees, proposed a multicultural book drive. CoDE would offer to donate four award-winning children鈥檚 books to a host of libraries across the county.
Librarians, including those at Gilead Hill School and Hebron Elementary, picked a wishlist of four books off a larger list. But CoDE was quickly notified that the Hebron school librarians would not be accepting these books.
CoDE soon received an invitation for a Zoom meeting with Tom Baird, Hebron鈥檚 school superintendent. In attendance were four CoDE Board members alongside Baird and Marlborough Superintendent Holly Hageman.
Baird expressed concerns over the book donations, citing an incident in Lebanon, 黑料新闻, in which a was founded at a school. He feared that book donations could lead to a similar controversy in Hebron.
Carr said Bair sent her an email explaining his decision, which read in part:
鈥淲e are not accepting book donations from any group at this time. This is because library books have become entirely too politically charged in the last few years with book challenges and different bills being proposed regarding school library collections. By not accepting any book donations we are creating a "limited public forum" regarding this issue under the law that puts us in a better legal position should our decision to not accept books from a group or individual be legally challenged. This ensures we are not in a similar situation to a neighboring town having the satan club.鈥�
Baird told CoDE that while the district would not accept the books it would accept a monetary donation from the group, or take the matter up with the Hebron Parent Teacher Association (PTA).
CoDE arranged a meeting with the district鈥檚 PTA per Baird鈥檚 advice. Carr said the meeting went very well and that PTA President Taylor Crawford was enthusiastic about the potential partnership.
However, Baird said the PTA asked to take a step back from the CoDE partnership and critiqued the organization鈥檚 approach to the incident.
鈥淥verall, feedback I have received is that working with CODE has not felt like a collaboration. Rather, it has felt like CODE is attempting to direct activities,鈥� Baird said.
In the email, Baird also said his decision was not an effort to limit reading material.
鈥淚 do agree that all involved want what is best for the community, schools, and students,鈥� Baird said. 鈥� We are committed to a diverse and inclusive collection of materials for our students. Not accepting book donations is nothing more than a legal position we feel we must take at this time.鈥�
In a statement to 黑料新闻, Baird cited the 鈥減oliticization of school library collections鈥� and the district鈥檚 鈥減olicy on material selection.鈥�
He explained his belief that public schools accepting book donations could 鈥渞esult in discrimination based on speech and expression鈥� and ultimately censorship by allowing influence from outside groups. He reiterated that book selection was the responsibility of the librarians, though CoDE did allow librarians to select a wishlist of books.
CoDE believes Baird鈥檚 decision is not isolated from the recent state and federal legislative debates over book censorship in schools.
River Bend Bookshop is an independent bookstore with locations in West Hartford and Glastonbury. They partnered with CoDE to help boost donations for the book drive via their online ordering system. Meghan Hayden, owner of River Bend Bookshop, was disappointed to hear the news, but not surprised with censorship on the rise.
Hayden says Superintendent Baird鈥檚 decision violates the values of the school district.
"Hebron public schools have a document, a district advancement plan that includes a vision that all students will be champions for equity,鈥� Hayden said. 鈥淒enying access to materials that teachers believe will aid them in teaching their students seems small and petty and against the core values of public education.鈥�
Book challenges in 黑料新闻 have been noticeably higher since the pandemic, peaking in 2023. These incidents have garnered attention from the state government, with a bill introduced in the most recent legislative session that would require a process for handling book challenges.
The Andover and Marlborough school districts, which had initially expressed enthusiasm for accepting the donation, started backing away, Carr said. However, CoDE was eventually able to win both districts over.
鈥淚t wasn't easy, but I think they saw our sincerity. I think it just made sense to them. We all want the best for our children. We want them to be exposed to different cultures. It just makes them more well rounded,鈥� Carr said.
Since the incident, CoDE has established strong and lasting relationships with the districts of Columbia, Andover and Marlborough working together to organize events like the at Horace Porter in Columbia and a at Marlborough Elementary.
Other voices in the Hebron community have expressed disappointment over the school district鈥檚 decision to reject the multicultural book donation.
Elliot Morelli-Wolfe, who grew up in Hebron, believes diverse books are critical to teaching tolerance and says this decision has larger implications.
鈥淐onsider the message that sends to his students and his faculty about who's accepted and who's allowed to have a voice in the community versus who has to be silenced,鈥� Morelli-Wolfe said.
In her experience as a bookseller, Hayden says she has witnessed countless children inspired by diverse books.
鈥淚t never hurts another child to hear a story about someone else. As long as every kid has that opportunity to see a book as a mirror, they also really benefit from seeing a book as a door into another world,鈥� Hayden said.
