DALLAS — A book about the grandson of a slave who learned to read when he was 98 years old is currently under review for use in the school named after him in Southlake.
The book, "Life is So Good," tells the story of George Dawson’s life, from segregation and the civil rights movement to learning to read at 98. It’s one of about 10 under review by Carroll Independent School District.
Social media posts circulating Monday suggested it was being challenged by parents or community members and pulled from the middle school that holds his name.
But Brandie Egan, a district spokeswoman, said in a statement that the book had not been banned or under reconsideration as part of the district’s challenge process.
Egan noted that a teacher wanted to use it as required reading in a seventh grade class. A district team — made up of teachers, principals and curriculum coordinators — reviewed it this summer along with other requests for required readings.
“It was determined that content in certain sections of this book was not appropriate for this age group,” Egan wrote. The process to evaluate which sections of the book are appropriate is still underway, she added. “To our knowledge, the book in its entirety was not used for instruction last year.”
District documents note that a review of the book, which was to be used in a journalism class, was “tabled” until the committee could talk to the school principal.
The review comes as more books — particularly those that feature stories about people of color or LGBT characters — are being challenged in school.
Dawson gained worldwide attention for his 2000 memoir and was profiled on the Discovery Channel, "Oprah," "Nightline," and in People magazine. A grandson of slaves, he become a face for literacy before his death in 2001 at age 103.
The campus, which opened in 2002, was named in honor of Dawson after former Carroll school trustee Jerry Lawrence suggested it. He was inspired by his son, who had heard Dawson speak while promoting his memoir.
Carroll ISD is under federal civil rights investigation by the Department of Education, which is looking into allegations of discrimination in Southlake schools in November 2021.
The affluent, mostly white district became a symbol for what backlash against “critical race theory” in schools looks like.
It attracted national attention after an administrator advised educators to teach students about the Holocaust from “opposing” perspectives, according to an audio recording obtained by NBC News.
The investigation was one of three opened by the federal government last year into the school district, which has been at the center of an ongoing firestorm over how to handle diversity and inclusion.
Many districts across the state are embroiled in fights over books.
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(The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from The Beck Group, Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Garrett and Cecilia Boone, The Meadows Foundation, The Murrell Foundation, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University, Todd A. Williams Family Foundation and the University of Texas at Dallas. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab’s journalism.)
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