St. Joseph Missouri school district retains book with graphic incestuous rape scene

The St. Joseph, Missouri Board of Education voted 4-3 Monday night to retain “without restriction” a library book that had been challenged in part for a detailed account of the incestuous rape of an 11-year-old by her father.

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison was written for ages 14 and up, but several schools and libraries have placed restrictions on it after complaints of its explicit content.

WARNING: The following passage is graphic and disturbing.

“The tightness of her vagina was more than he could bear,” begins the graphic passage. “His shoulder seemed to slip down to his guts and fly out into her and the gigantic thrust he made into her then provoked the only sound she made – a hollow suck of air in the back of her throat […] Removing himself from her was so painful to him he cut it short and snatched his genitals out of the dry harbor of her vagina. She appeared to have fainted. Cholly stood up and could see only her grayish panties, so sad and limp around her ankles.” 

The first half of the hourlong school board meeting was devoted to public comments, with community members speaking for and against the book and the policies and procedures that affect how objectionable content should be handled by the district. 

Later, school board members were given up to two minutes each to explain their support or opposition before voting on a motion to retain the book, following a review committee’s recommendation. 

“[The book] is important and has literary value,” concluded board member Whitney Lanning, who spoke the most among board members during the meeting. 

Rather than defend the book, Lanning used the bulk of her allotted time before the vote to blame a large local business, Herzog Contracting Corp., and specifically “Herzog men,” for allegedly supporting the book challenges and a school board candidate, and opposing a school bond that passed in April. 

She also complained about a previous article published by The Lion that detailed nine library books in the district that might violate state obscenity laws, erroneously describing the article as “Herzog … accusing our district of committing felonies.”  

The Lion is published by the Stanley M. Herzog Charitable Foundation, which is a separate entity from the contracting corporation, and the article made no determination about actual crimes committed. 

Board President LaTonya Williams, Vice President Mike Moore and at-large member Rick Gehring voted approvingly of Lanning’s eventual motion “to follow the committee recommendation and retain without restriction” The Bluest Eye.  

The 4-3 vote came at the end of a meeting that covered little else. 

Voting against the book’s reinstatement were board members Isaura Garcia, Kim Miller and Ronda Chesney, who collectively cited concerns with the sexually explicit content, as well as the new “opt-out” policy, which puts the onus on parents to identify inappropriate materials and make restriction requests.