Texas governor writes puzzling letter about ‘pornography’ in school libraries as new culture war targets literature

Governor Greg Abbott has written to the Texas Association of School Boards asking the organisation to determine whether “pornography or other inappropriate content” exists in the state’s public school libraries.

In a letter to Dan Troxell, the director of the group, the governor placed himself on the new frontline in the growing culture war in the US, demanding that “extremely inappropriate” content be removed from the public education system.

“A growing number of parents of Texas students are becoming increasingly alarmed about some of the books and other content found in public school libraries that are extremely inappropriate in the public education system,” Mr Abbott wrote, not citing any specific examples.

The organisation has said it is “confused” why it was sent the letter given that it has no regulatory authority over school districts or library books, The Texas Tribune reports.

When asked about the context of Governor Abbott’s letter, his press office pointed to a recent incident in which a book was removed after parents complained about graphic images.

The Keller school district removed Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe from the shelves of a high school library. State Representative Jeff Cason has called on state Attorney General Ken Paxton to investigate the novel and those with similar themes.

A row over library books was already brewing after state Representative Matt Krause, a Republican representing Fort Worth who is currently running to be Texas attorney general, sent a letter to certain school districts that included a list of 850 books asking how many copies they had and how much was spent on them.

The list includes a number of bestsellers and award-winners, many exploring themes relating to racism, sexuality, gender identity, and even titles related to sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV and Aids.

Among those listed are the 1967 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Confessions of Nat Turner by William Styron, and Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates.

The school districts of Austin, Houston, and Dallas have dismissed the inquiry, whereas Fort Worth has said it will comply with Mr Krause’s request. Other districts are reviewing the letter.

Arguments over what books students have access to through school libraries are not new, nor are they limited to Texas.

Glenn Youngkin, who faces the electorate on Tuesday in his campaign to be governor of Virginia, is also backing calls to have certain books and curriculums cancelled.

Mr Youngkin released an ad featuring a woman who fought to give parents greater say over their children’s school reading lists after her son was assigned Nobel laureate Toni Morrison’s classic book Beloved.

Laura Murphy was appalled by the book’s content when shown it by her son, then a senior, who deemed it “gross”. In response, she began a years-long campaign for legislation that would oblige English teachers in Virginia to notify parents whenever a work of literature that featured “sexually explicit” content was assigned.

The effort ultimately failed when the law was vetoed by Terry McAuliffe, who is now running against Mr Youngkin to return to the governor’s mansion.