By Lois Beckett, The Guardian, October 2019
When a Latina author discussed white privilege at a public university in Georgia, a group of white students burned copies of her book.
A video of the book-burning went viral, prompting condemnation by PEN America, an advocacy group that promotes free expression.
The school did not condemn the book burning. In a statement, Georgia Southern University said its students have a right to burn books if they choose, but said book burning does not “encourage the civil discourse and debate of ideas”.
A university spokeswoman said the school was “not planning any actions against any of the students involved in this incident”.
In a letter to students and faculty, the university president, Kyle Marrero, said: “While it’s within the students’ first amendment rights, book burning does not align with Georgia Southern’s values.”
Jennine Capó Crucet, a novelist and author of short stories, said social media images of her books being burned came on the same day she gave a campus talk about diversity and the college experience.
Capó Crucet is the author of a critically acclaimed novel, Make Your Home Among Strangers, which follows a Latina student at a prestigious, primarily white university. Her most recent book is a collection of essays, My Time Among the Whites: Notes from an Unfinished Education.
Read the rest of the story via The Guardian
