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Transcript/Script((PLAYBOOK SLUG: TV US Schools Book Ban - Malik
HEADLINE: A Group of Students Stood Up Against School District to Lift Ban on Educational Materials that Focused on Diversity.
TEASER:
PUBLISHED AT: 12/22/2021 at 3:50pm
BYLINE: Nukhbat Malik
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: York, Pennsylvania
VIDEOGRAPHER: Nukhbat Malik
PRODUCER: Nukhbat Malik
SCRIPT EDITORS: KE(1st), MAS
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA Original | VOA Urdu Service
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _x_ RADIO __
TRT: 3:21
VID APPROVED BY: MAS
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES:))
((INTRO))
[[A ban on some educational material in York City, Pennsylvania has been lifted a year after the issue attracted national attention. VOA’s Nukhbat Malik has more from York]]
((NARRATOR))
Last fall, the Central York School District in Pennsylvania implemented what they called a "freeze" on some educational materials that focused on persons of color.
That’s when the newly formed Panther Anti-Racist Union or PARU stepped in.
Edha Gupta a student from Central York is the group’s first president.
((Edha Gupta, Panther Anti-Racist Union President)) ((Female in Urdu))
“… I am angry! And I have something to do about it!”
((NARRATION))
School board members who voted for the freeze reportedly said their concern was that some of the material was critical of police or discussed white privilege. Others worried the material would create racial divides among students.
Content banned by the York School District Board in September last year included dozens of books on African American history.
Content included 270 articles, books, documentaries, and even a coloring book that illustrated diversity in the United States. The material also included three books on Pakistan's Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai.
The students were outraged.
((Renee Ellis, Student)) ((Female in English))
“There are a lot of people in this country who still believe that slavery is the right answer. There are a lot of people in this country who just don’t like African Americans. There is a lack of education, there is a lack of understanding among people and especially the past couple years I feel like as a society our ability to hold conversations and dialogues has just deplenished drastically.”
((NARRATOR))
The Panther Anti-Racist Union was formed during protests against the death of African American George Floyd while in police custody.
((Edha Gupta, Panther Anti-Racist Union President)) ((Female in Urdu))
“I have always been a very good student. Always excelled in classes. And I have been very simple. I've been a good girl. But after this year, when I saw so much anger and hatred among this board against the students, I am not scared and timid anymore. Now it's anger.
Students later learned about the school board’s ban on some educational materials.
((High School Senior, Panther Anti-Racist Union Social Media Advisor)) ((Female in English))
“Us students we found out roughly a year after it was actually instated. We found out through the York Daily Dispatch. We found the list then we all got together talked to our advisors, we needed to make a change and we needed to show the school board that it wasn’t okay to do this.”
((NARRATOR))
((Mandatory courtesy: Panther Anti Racist Union))
With the assistance of some parents and teachers, the group began protesting the decision.
((Christina Ellis, Student)) ((Female in English))
“When we started protesting, it eventually - it started to pick up some heat. Local news channels started to reach out we did interviews with them, and it got all the way up to CNN and Fox News. From that moment, that’s when the board reversed the ban, that Monday, which is September 20th, 2021.”
((NARRATOR))
The school board declined to comment on camera in an email to VOA, but when they voted to lift the ban group members defended the decision, telling local newspapers the freeze was never a ‘ban’ just a way to give the board time to review the books on the list, and the materials were never actually removed from the school library.
The group says their work is far from done. York Pennsylvania is a diverse community,
((Mandatory courtesy: Panther Anti-Racist Union))
but people here say incidents like the book freeze make life for minorities challenging in the Pennsylvania town.
((Nukhbat Mallik – VOANEWS – York County, Pennsylvania))
NewsML Media TopicsSociety, Education
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateDecember 22, 2021 17:16 EST
Brand / Language ServiceUS Agency for Global Media
