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Scholastic authors are sharing concerns over the publisher's recently recanted censorship attempt.

According to Publishers Weekly, author Maggie Tokuda-Hall was asked by Scholastic to cut the words "virulent racism" from her new book, Love in the Library, after the publisher offered to license her book for a Scholastics Rising Voices Library collection of books called "Amplifying AANHPI." The book, published in 2022 by Candlewick Press and illustrated by Yas Imamura, tells of how Tokuda-Hall's Japanese American grandparents met one another and fell in love while imprisoned in a camp in Idaho during World War II.

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Love in the Library ends with an afterword by Tokuda-Hall where she explains some of the historical context surrounding the story and how its themes relate to ongoing issues in America. [My grandparents] improbable joy does not excuse virulent racism, nor does it minimize the pain, the trauma, and the deaths that resulted from it," Tokuda-Hall wrote. "But it is to situate it into the deeply American tradition of racism."

An editor for Scholastics Rising Voices Library told Tokuda-Hall, "We love this book! And we want everyone in the schools we serve to read it. However, our audience is comprised of elementary school-aged children and there are some details in the Authors Note that, although eloquently stated, are too strongly worded for what most teachers would expect to share with their students. This could lead to teachers declining to use the book, which would be a shame. To that end we are requesting make an adjustment to the Authors Note. Our suggested change is attached."

On April 11, 2023, Tokuda-Hall wrote a blog post, "Scholastic, and a Faustian Bargain," explaining the situation and why she ultimately rejected the publisher's censorship proposal. She wrote, "For a moment I wondered if there was a way to edit it so we could agree on it? But then I looked at the proposed edit, the one my offer was contingent upon again. The removal of the word RACISM made it all too clear. There was no compromise to be had here. There was no way to work with this. It was a Faustian Bargain, and I couldnt take it.

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"...Every time I see a marginalized creator tell the truth about what they face, I feel this way: frustrated. Furious. Disheartened. But also less alone. Each incident reminds me that we are braver than they are, even if its only because we have to be. And that the more of us who do this, the more likely there may come a day when we can stop doing this. I cant imagine what that looks like, and most days I cant believe that day will ever come. I also cant imagine not at least trying to get there."

On April 16, 2023, author Kelly Yang posted a video on Twitter supporting Tokuda-Hall and asking the publisher to take a stand against matters such as censorship and book bans. "As one of your top authors, I'm asking you to have more courage," she said. "You can not be quietly self-censoring. Whatever pressure you may be facing, know that your authors are facing even more pressure and yet we're still out here writing these books, risking our lives, bleeding to make you millions [and] trying to write the books for the next generation that will hopefully improve the world -- stories that reflect our times, books that don't sugarcoat reality or gloss over history."

On April 14, 2023, Scholastic President and CEO Peter Warwick put out a public apology regarding the proposed censorship. "Love in the Library is a beautiful and important book, and we all agree that it would be a tremendous addition to this classroom library collection," Warwick said. "However, in our initial outreach we suggested edits to Ms. Tokuda-Halls authors note. This approach was wrong and not in keeping with Scholastics values. We dont want to diminish or in any way minimize the racism that tragically persists against Asian-Americans."

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According to Warwick, Scholastic has reached out to Candlewick, apologized to all the creators involved with Love in the Library and now "hope" to restart conversations around including the unchanged book in the Amplifying AANHPI collection.

"We also met today with the collection's mentors (authors and educators from the AANHPI communities) to apologize for our actions in seeking to change the authors note, to hear their most recent thoughts, and to answer their questions and concerns," Warwick continued. "It was a moving and instructive experience for us. We had not consulted them on such an important issue as this, we had therefore put at risk their trust in us and caused personal anguish and harm. We must never do this again. We will be reviewing our curating and publishing processes to ensure that all our decisions and actions are consistent with our Credo, which unequivocally states our belief in the value of every individual, as well as the importance of representation, accuracy, and diverse voices in the stories, information, and teaching materials we share with educators, families, and communities."

Source: Publishers Weekly, Scholastic, Pretty Ok Maggie, Twitter

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