VIDEO: Are you gonna eat her p****? 27 books in Abilene ISD under review for explicit content
At the October 6th Abilene ISD School Board meeting, concerned parents, former educators, and citizens were visibly uncomfortable as they and others from their group read aloud excerpts from books they described as vulgar. The group was demanding that the books be removed from the shelves. Leading the charge is Tammy Fogle, Taylor County Chair for Moms for Liberty. She also sat down with KTAB/KRBC for a separate conversation on the topic.
“We need to get these inappropriate materials that State Law SB 13 says should be removed from the libraries out,” said Fogle.
KTAB/KRBC spoke with AISD Executive Director of Secondary Education and Library Coordinator, Lyndsey Williamson, who confirmed that 27 books
, including those read aloud during the recent board meeting, were immediately removed from circulation after their formal submission for review through a Challenge Form. The titles are currently under evaluation by a group of 7 voting and 7 non-voting district parents who make up the School Library Advisory Council (SLAC), which is a co-accordance with established district policy, though she said only one of those 27 had been brought to district attention before the October 6th meeting.
“We don’t necessarily have the authority to pull just any book in our library. What we want to be careful of is one person not having the authority to do that because all of our beliefs are different, whether it’s our personal or our religious beliefs are different,” Williamson said.
AISD Executive Director of Secondary Education and Library Coordinator Lyndsey Williamson told KTAB/KRBC that the formation of the SLAC, while optional, was a decision made by the district in accordance with Texas Senate Bill 13 (SB13). That bill, passed in 2021, set forth a framework for Texas schools to provide library content transparency for parents, and a process by which concerned students, parents, or staff can submit books for formal review.
“Some of [the books] are no-brainers. They need to come out, but others aren’t quite that easy. And they may be books that maybe certain groups just don’t agree with, but it doesn’t mean that they’re inappropriate for our students,” said Williamson.
More than 10 concerned citizens approached the podium to speak in favor of removing the books. Those titles cover topics such as sex, sexual abuse, and drug use at different points. One person argued, “there are books that seek to groom and corrupt minds of our young children to engage in sexual perversion.” Another, read from a book which she did not identify by name, stating that it addressed “drug use and sexuality that it leads to.” She read, “Brandon, please stop. No. Down came the shorts and down went the zipper. I realized I was in trouble.”
Tammy Fogle also read from a book that was previously found in the library at Abilene High School, and according to AISD, has been removed from availability to students, called ‘Me Earl and the Dying Girl’, approaching city council members with the following excerpt:
“Are you gonna eat her p****? Yeah Earl, I’m gonna eat her p****. Do you even know how to eat p****? One day you’re gonna have to eat p****.” There were a minority of speakers who voiced a desire to see the current process followed for those who wish to see books removed from school shelves. Two people stated their appreciation for the school board and the work being done by members of the SLAC. One of them, a parent with children currently in the AISD system, said, “Public education thrives on exposure, not restriction. Public education exists to prepare students for the real world, not to protect them from it. That means giving them access to a wide range of books and ideas, even those that might feel uncomfortable or complex…Education should teach students how to think, not what to think. Curiosity, not censorship, is what strengthens young minds.” That parent went on to clarify, “…No one is arguing that kids should hear what we have heard tonight. But there’s already a process that exists to bring those concerns before you.”