Jewell Parker Rhodes’ novel Ghost Boys was banned in at least one school.

The Kingsburg (CA) Elementary Charter School District removed this book from its curriculum after a parent complained about the political views expressed in the book. The novel concerns a Black boy who is killed by police while playing with a toy gun. The district removed the book without going through a reconsideration process. (Source: Marshall Libraries)

In an interview by Refinery29, Jewell spoke about her feelings over the ban:

“I was honestly shocked when Ghost Boys was banned. I spent two and a half years writing a book that educators and parents could use to discuss the differences between racism and unconscious bias. The book is about love and how children, in terms of their open-heartedness, can help rid the world of oppression, discrimination, and prejudice to become a collective group of heroes and heroines who engage in an affirmative, nonviolent change. We are failing in our job as educators and parents and adults to equip our children with the skills they need to be responsible citizens if we take away discourse around these issues. We’re saying we want our kids to grow up in a fantasy rather than to be prepared to take over and run the world. And they will run the world. They’re going to be old enough to vote, and they will be reshaping our destiny, so important conversations must be had to get them to be educated and to be a citizen in the deepest, deepest sense.
There are a lot of young writers today who are just so self-assured that they’re just going to stand up and speak. When I was a young writer, the banning would make me want to shut down. But of course, today, I can’t shut down because I tell the truth, I’m an artist, and I have a commitment to my craft and my own humanity more than anything else. If I had been a different kind of person, I would have quit, but I was born to tell stories and educate.”

You can read the full Refinery29 article here.