Books can help students see themselves reflected in the world — and discover the experiences of people whose lives are different from their own. That’s one reason book bans and challenges to inclusive books are so concerning: when stories about LGBTQ+ people, people of color, and other communities are removed, students lose opportunities to learn from the full range of human experiences.
The same principle applies to what students are taught in the classroom. Across the country, efforts to restrict inclusive content limit what students can learn about race, sexual orientation, gender identity, and other aspects of our shared history. In Texas, Lambda Legal, alongside the Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., and Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, are challenging policies in the Texas Tech University System that have resulted in course materials being flagged, restricted, or removed.
Seeing Yourself in the Stories You Read
For LGBTQ+ students, seeing people and characters like them in the books they read, histories they study, and subjects they explore can be a powerful reminder that they belong. Representation can help students understand that their lives and respective communities are not separate from the broader society — they are an integral part of it.
E.R. Anderson of Charis Books & More, one of the South’s oldest independent queer and feminist bookstores, echoed this sentiment in an interview with Lambda Legal, saying, “Queer and trans people exist and our stories are vital to the fabric and history of the world.”
“Especially for young people, how else would you know that you are not alone with your weird thoughts, your fears, your hopes, your loves, if you don’t see them reflected back to you in the image of others?” continued Anderson.
“Books allow us, no matter where we live and what we have in the material world, to connect to people and ideas that we might have only dreamed about.”
When those books and stories are removed from libraries and classrooms, students lose more than access to a particular title. They lose opportunities to read about experiences that can help them understand themselves and connect with others.
What Happens When These Stories are Silenced
The push to restrict inclusive content doesn’t stop with books. It can also determine which histories and identities students are allowed to learn about as part of their education.
On behalf of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), Lambda Legal alongside the Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., and Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, are challenging the Texas Tech University System’s policies that require faculty to flag course materials addressing sexual orientation, gender identity, and race for review. These policies have since resulted in course content being restricted or removed entirely.
The consequences are both concrete and concerning. Faculty have been prohibited from teaching that gay and bisexual men were persecuted during the Holocaust. Students have been restricted from learning about race in the context of Dred Scott v. Sandford. Meanwhile, health sciences students have been prevented from receiving guidance on how to treat trans patients.
As Nicholas Hite, Lambda Legal Senior Attorney and McDonald/Wright Distinguished Counsel, said, Texas Tech’s policies effectively seek to “erase the history, identities, and lived experiences of LGBTQ people and people of color from the classroom.”
When a student’s own history or identity is removed from the curriculum, it can reinforce the idea that those experiences are somehow less legitimate or less worthy of being shared.
The Value of Learning from One Another
The goal of creating an inclusive curriculum isn’t to instruct students on what to think. It’s about providing them the knowledge, context, and opportunity to think critically about the many different spaces they will enter after graduating.
Students don’t need to share someone else’s identity or experiences to learn from their history, perspectives, and contributions. And they’ll carry that knowledge with them well after they leave the classroom.
After all, future doctors will care for patients whose identities and experiences differ from their own. Future teachers will teach students from various communities. Future lawyers will represent people whose lives may not look like theirs. It’s inevitable that every student will live and work alongside people with identities and lived experiences unlike what they’ve known.
Dr. TJ Geiger of the Texas Tech chapter of the AAUP summarized well the role of educational systems and inclusive course content: “Students and their families trust us to deliver a truthful and complete education that prepares them for whatever path they take after graduation.”
Preparing Students for the Real World
Students deserve to see themselves in what they learn. They also deserve the opportunity to see and understand one another. That means classrooms where LGBTQ+ people, people of color, and other communities are recognized and included in the histories and stories students encounter.
Inclusive course content and books make education more complete — and better prepare students for the future.
Read more about Lambda Legal’s lawsuit against the Texas Tech University System by heading to the official case page.