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Virginia school district reverses ban on classic novels

Posted at 12:00 AM, Dec 07, 2016
and last updated 2016-12-07 00:00:26-05

ACCOMACK Co., Va. – Classic novels “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and “To Kill a Mockingbird” are no longer temporarily bannedfrom Accomack County schools.

Use of the two classics was recently suspended after a parent raised concerns about their use of the N-word. Combined, the two books use the N-word more than 250 times.

“There’s so much racial slurs and defensive wording in there that you can’t get past that,” the mother said during last month’s school board meeting. “Right now, we are a nation divided as it is.”

According to a video of the school board meeting that DelmarvaNowposted, they voted to permanently reinstate both novels on Tuesday. The vote was unanimous.

The Accomack County School Board also said in the video that they plan to create a new committee which will review the board’s policy.