A group of pastors, parents, and community leaders concerned about explicit books in kids’ libraries confronted the Fort Bend Independent School District Board of Trustees this week.
The citizens took issue with several titles available for children to check out in school libraries across the district, many of which Texas Scorecard reviewed earlier this month.
Pastor John K. Amanchukwu, who addressed Midland ISD’s board last week regarding its inappropriate book problem, specifically questioned the Fort Bend ISD board about the title House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas in district libraries.
“If he grabs his phone to check his message before his di** is barely out of you again, please have the self-respect to kick his balls across the room,” Amanchukwu read from the book.
He then asked the board:
Can a child go into the school system and type in ‘Pornhub?’ … you can’t. Why? Because you put natural governors on the internet to make sure that they don’t see porn. Well, doggone, if you’re going to do that, why not go to the library and find out who’s putting the filth in the libraries and find that pervert and fire them?
Denise Bell, the chapter chairwoman of Moms for Liberty in Harris County, highlighted another book entitled What Girls Are Made Of by Elena K. Arnold.
The book features vivid sexual encounters and jokes about abortion, rape, and Christianity. Bell read from several disturbing passages in the book, which could be found at the Dulles and Clements High Schools.
“It’s a real thing written by a religious mystic way back in the 13th century. She was talking about worshiping Jesus, but come on. She was talking about sex, right? Sex with Jesus. That was what she wanted—to give Jesus head. And I totally understood it,” Bell read from the book.
Bell concluded that “this [book] is not for kids. This is not for minors. This doesn’t belong. Our tax dollars should not be putting this material in our schools.”
Pastor Carlos Jones of the Inspiration Church in Missouri City also spoke on the issue at the board meeting, reading from All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson, a book about growing up as a gay black man.
Texas’ educational standards prohibit sexually explicit material in children’s school libraries pursuant to the newly enacted House Bill 900, which was passed in June 2023.
David Hamilton, a Fort Bend ISD school board trustee, previously lamented to Texas Scorecard about the former superintendent’s inaction in addressing the district’s problem with sexually explicit books.
However, he expressed optimism in the new superintendent and board “to solve these challenges and move Fort Bend ISD forward.”
A Fort Bend ISD spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment before publication.
The Fort Bend ISD board meeting comes just one week after a Midland ISD spokeswoman told Scorecard that the district would work towards quickly reviewing titles that concerned citizens took issue with on March 19.
