A high school student in Idaho peaceably performed a quiet but powerful protest against censorship at her graduation ceremonies. For her courage, her commitment to freedom to read, and her sheer chutzpah, I add the name of Annabelle Jenkins to the honor roll of this blog.
An Idaho high school graduate staged an unusual form of protest at her graduation when she offered a book to the school district’s superintendent, who had banned it months earlier.
Annabelle Jenkins was one of 44 graduates to have her name called during the Idaho Fine Arts Academy graduation ceremony on May 23.
After she shook hands with administrators on the stage, Jenkins paused in front of West Ada School District Superintendent Derek Bub and pulled out “The Handmaid’s Tale” from the sleeve of her graduation gown.
Bub stood firm with his arms crossed and declined the book, leaving Jenkins to drop it at his feet as she moved across the stage.
The graphic novel version, written by Margaret Atwood and Renee Nault, was one of 10 the school district banned from its libraries earlier in the academic year over its graphic imagery, deemed unsuitable for the student body.
I hope that Annabelle read the full text version of the book, in addition to the banned graphic novel.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Thank you, Annabelle!!!
Working from home, I earn $165 per hour. When my neighbor told me she was now making an average of $95, I was very astonished, but now (ubd-83) I understand how it works. I now have a great deal of freedom thanks to becoming my own employer.
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I saw the film. Here was a chance for the superintendent to appear gracious. After all, it’s graduation day! But he missed it. Thank you to Annabelle, who has a bright future.
I’m sorry….Inappropriate behavior for graduation. Why this girl thought that her issue needed to disrupt a ceremony that everyone was there to enjoy is beyond my comprehension. The book was NOT banned! She had a copy! Same with the Columbia students walking in with zip tied wrists and ripping up their diplomas. The few getting to ruin it for everyone is getting old and annoying.
I wish you were kidding about this, Lisa. And Annabelle Jenkins, you rock.
Keep on rockin’ in the free world.
LisaM, I did not like the college graduates who tore their diplomas and wore zip ties, but I respect Annabelle’s symbolic gesture against censorship. It was an important statement about freedom to read. Yes, the book was banned by the district. Yes, she could buy a copy online or from a bookstore.
had the superintendent accepted the book and the point graciously, no one would have ever known.
At my daughter’s recent graduation, most of the students slipped the principal a penny or a nickel when he shook their hand. Very few people caught it at all.
This young woman, put the freedom of the press in, ACTION, and, I do believe, she has the right to, protest the books that were, banned, after all, books like Fahrenheit 451 had been banned from before, and now, it’s on the, High School reading list, isn’t it? So, this is s students’ way, of, bringing about, changes in the, system, dmd, that is a, good, thing!
I strongly believe that the younger generations that are going to have to step as Annabelle did and stop the older generation, which includes Trump, Desantis and those like them, from destroying this country and our democracy. Annabelle made a very strong important statement that needs to be heard by all. Annabelle action at the graduation was properly the only way that she and her classmates could get the attention of the Principal and the Board of Education on the subject of banned books. Thank you Annabelle for standing up to those who would take away your freedom and that of others to think, to read what you want to read, and to choose when you want to read it. Thank you Annabelle.
And thank you, Annabelle, for making so clearly the point that these people who ban books are acting out of ignorance. Here, supe, read the freaking book. If you can read.
Bub stood firm with his eyes crossed and his tease dotted. Captured by the din of his concocted title “powers”, he seemed able to pretend that he could control what the kids do. How the Bubs, gifted with the teacher-feature, maintain their sense of control, is a mystery. Maybe the Methodism is wordiness is next to godliness, and more words equals more power. Problem is, the Cosmos is deaf to their tongue, like reality…
I praise Annabelle Jenkins!!!
I read that The Idaho Fine Arts Academy (IFAA) is in the city of Meridian. I went to public school in Meridian from first grade through part of third grade. My grandfather owned a 40 acre farm in Meridian. [My parents then moved to Boise and I attended pubic schools in Boise and graduated from Boise Junior College. It is now Boise State University.]
Good for you Annabelle!!! I no longer live in Idaho but I’m very proud of you!!!
I wonder how many books from the Right Side of the aisle even from the New York Times Best Sellers List ever make it to the shelves and display sections of our public schools?
A fellow history teacher of mine used to give a book by Glen Beck for a history award each year. As an historian, I did not approve since Beck is not an academic historian. Still, I bore it without complaining since I am a believer in allowing all voices.
public schools are fabrics of different opinions. To suggest otherwise is just wrong.
That astonishes me, Roy. Must be a Tennessee thing. In the places where I taught, this kind of political partisanship would not have been tolerated by the administration, whatever the politics of the principal and APs.
nobody knew who Glen Beck was. The only reason I knew was that I had come across his book in a bookstore. My friend is a conservative partisan, who perceived Beck as authoritative. I bet this happens in rural areas more than you think.
Public school libraries almost never, in my experience, carry books of contemporary political opinion on the right or the left. You Reichwingers need to get into actual schools sometime so you would realize what utter horseshit the whole attack on schools by the Reichwing is. Anyone who has taught in public schools knows that these places are extremely averse to political opinion. They are run by administrators who want to keep their jobs and not to offend anyone. There is an enormous amount of self-censorship. I did not know a single teacher, in my years of teaching, who made his or her politics readily known to students. Not a single one. And again, book of political opinion, right or left, simply are almost never found in public school libraries.
the funding for the school library where I taught was so abysmal that there were few books bought. Most money went to computers and plugable resources, sort of modern electronic encyclopedia things
Sadly the case in much of the country now.
Hello Diane!!
Thank you very much for this post and the kind words.
I have in fact read both the novel and the graphic novel version in middle school and my early years of high school.
On the inside of the book I handed Dr. Bub, I inscribed a quote by Ellen Hopkins. “A word to the unwise. Torch every book. Chat every page. Burn every word to ash. Ideas are incombustible and therein lies your real fear.”
I encourage everyone to support their local libraries and read banned books.
Thank you, much love
Annabelle ❤
Dear Annabelle,
Thank you for writing.
Thank you for standing up for your convictions.
Thank you for believing in your freedom to read.
Get a good college education and prepare to change the world.
Or, as we say in Brooklyn, you go, girl!!
Diane
Annabelle, you rock!!! Thank you for taking this courageous stand for the freedom to read! Young people like you give me hope for the future, for a better, wiser world.
–Bob S.