A split vote by a Midlands school district will restrict usage of a controversial worksheet that led to accusations of racial insensitivity, even as the works by a celebrated Black author on which the lesson was based remained untouched.
The Lexington-Richland 5 school board voted on a formal challenge brought by a parent over a high school English lesson based on a book by author Zora Neale Hurston. The complaint said the lesson included the use of racial slurs and stereotypes that had left students disturbed.
After hearing from critics of the plan and supporters of academic freedom, the board voted 4-2 to restrict use of material on Hurston’s “Harlem Slanguage” to approved uses by instructional staff only…