Keep Diversity in Commack Schools
This fund is to help pay the legal fees of Mr. Charles Schulz, who was removed from his position of Director of English, and stripped of his tenure, because he did not agree with the Commack NY Superintendent Dr. James when James made the decision to remove the award winning graphic novel Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi from the curriculum. The book has been read by Commack students for thirteen years, and is one of only a few texts written by authors who represent diverse backgrounds. When the Superintendent ordered him to remove this book about a teenage girl growing up during the Iranian Civil War, Schulz defended its value. As a result, he was told the next day that he was being “transferred” out of his position.
This is not the only incident of censorship that has taken place. In the last few years, Dr. James has also been involved in pulling The Diary of Anne Frank and The Devil’s Arithmetic (both of which are about the Holocaust).
As believers in diversity in education we want to support Mr. Schulz in his legal fight. He was removed from his position and stripped of his tenure because he stood up for our children’s need for literature that shows other perspectives and cultures. If an administrator can be removed simply for verbalizing his point of view, who will be left to protect and add to a curriculum that is already badly in need of more diverse texts/authors?
We cannot let him become a scapegoat for Dr. James and the school board as they try to appease a few angry people.
We encourage you to watch the video from the board of education meeting on June 8 that was the day before Schulz was demoted and lost his tenure so you can see the climate for yourself and decide if those are the voices you want to determine our children's literature curriculum. Please show your support for equality and diversity in our children's education by helping Mr. Schulz fight for his position and tenure. Let's send a message to the community, Dr. James and the board of education that we support Mr. Schulz in his fight for our children.
