Children's book author Robin Stevenson has written a scathing open letter to a school in the US after an event at the school was cancelled following complaints from a parent.
Stevensen, a Canadian author currently promoting her book, Kid Activists: True Tales of Childhood from Champions of Change, about the book at Longfellow Elementary School in Wheaton, Illinois - but it was pulled without explanation at the last minute.
According to Stevenson, one parent objected to children being exposed to a book which includes a chapter on the upbringing of LGBTIQ+ pioneer and first openly-gay elected official in the history of California, Harvey Milk.
In an open letter to the Board of School District 200, , Stevenson wrote: "On Wednesday October 2, I was scheduled to do an author visit at a District 200 school - Longfellow Elementary School in Wheaton, Illinois - as part of a U.S. tour for the launch of my newest book, Kid Activists.
"The night before my talk, my publisher contacted me to let me know that the school district had canceled my visit. The reason given was that a parent had complained because one of the activists included in the book is Harvey Milk."
Stevensen went on to point out that the book included a diverse range of historical figures, including abolitionist Frederick Douglass, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., and Indigenous water protector Autumn Peltier.
"This action sends a very harmful message to students, particularly students who are themselves LGBTIQ+ or have family members who are part of the LGBTIQ+ community," she wrote.
"It says that their lives can’t be talked about, that their very existence is seen as shameful or dangerous. It says that no matter how significant their accomplishments, or how much they contribute to the world, they can be erased and made invisible because of who they are."
She said that cancelling the presentation, which was meant to be put on 175 students, the school had "legitimised a a concern rooted in homophobia".
According to , representatives for Longfellow Elementary School have claimed that the parent's complaint wasn't about the LGBTIQ+ content, but about “the process we utilise to inform parents about author visits and the contents of the presentation and promotion.
“The event was not canceled because of a specific character in the book; the event was canceled based on the lack of appropriate notification of the author’s visit,” District 200 spokesperson Erica Loiacono wrote in a .
“Parents/guardians were not provided a sufficient opportunity to review the information and determine whether they wanted their child to participate in the program. Parents were only informed of the author’s visit, not the content of the book, presentation and promotion,” she added.
However, Stevenson disputed the district's claims, responding: "To be clear, parents were given the usual notice. They were told an author was visiting, and given an opportunity to order a copy of Kid Activists."
