Wisconsin school district rejects book about Japanese American concentration camps

The Muskego-Norway School District in Wisconsin has rejected a historical fiction novel about Japanese American concentration camps and will not allow it to be taught to 10th grade Accelerated English students. Common criticism from the board of the book, When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka, is that it does not cover every possible perspective of the historical context surrounding Japanese internment and “lacks balance.”

Community members, teachers, parents, and students are outraged and have started a petition, urging the school board to approve the book.

In the petition, members of the community write, “The inclusion of this book in the Accelerated English 10 curriculum will allow students to engage in nuanced discussion of the realities of Japanese internment and its cultural significance, which will facilitate stronger community understanding and, in turn, stronger rhetorical ability; the AP Language and Composition course is heavily centered on a student’s ability to understand and construct strong rhetoric, which means that When the Emperor Was Divine will have a direct positive impact on the success of students in this advanced course. As residents of the world and heirs of its history, we must be given the opportunity to reflect on the past and point out the pain and suffering caused in the past. This reflection is meant to prepare ourselves to create a stronger country and world by rejecting outright the mistakes of the past. The reactions of the board to the proposal of this book have revealed the disgusting intention to foster ignorance and maintain the status quo within the district’s students and, by extension, the residents of Muskego. We believe that this book should be accepted for the classroom based solely on its academic value, and we are infuriated that it has been met with an ideology that forcefully shuts down any mention of historically disenfranchised people.“

According to a report by the Wisconsin Examiner, one committee and school board member said the selected book can’t be all about “oppression.”

School board members also argued that When the Emperor Was Divine was “too sad” to be taught, to which the community petition countered by presenting a list of books that were taught and also considered sad and dark in nature. “The idea that this book in question should be denied based on its ‘sadness’ is utterly absurd,” the petition stated.

One teacher is anonymously quoted as saying, “I’ve never felt so under attack for just doing my job or doing my duty to teach kids about others and their world. At one time this would have been college and career readiness; now it’s “indoctrination.” I feel like I have to defend every book that has a person of color in it.”

Another teacher said, "The anti-diversity sentiment that the school board is supporting leaves me feeling scared and uncomfortable teaching. It is my ethical responsibility to grow global citizens--I cannot do that without exposing them to a diverse populace. We DO have diverse students in our school and they deserve to be represented (in text and discussion). The anti-diversity and lack of pushback against that from district leaders has left me actively seeking other positions in districts that support diversity.”

You can read the full petition here.