The Redlands school board is debating the fate of two books on library shelves at two high schools that have been challenged for alleged explicit content.
On Tuesday night, Dec. 9, board members are discussing whether “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison and “Push” by Sapphire should remain in the libraries.
RELATED: Two books could be pulled from Redlands school library shelves
The debut novel by the Nobel Prize-winning author Morrison was published in 1970 and addresses racism, beauty standards, child abuse and sexual abuse through the eyes of 11-year-old Pecola after the Great Depression.
“Push” is a 1996 novel that inspired the Oscar-winning movie “Precious.” It tells the story of an illiterate Black teenager in New York City’s Harlem who is sexually abused by her father and deals with themes such as rape and abuse.
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Redlands High School teacher Patricia Molnar holds a sign in favor of “The Bluest Eye” during the uesday, Dec. 9, 2025, Redlands school board meeting. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
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Redlands High School teacher Patricia Molnar holds a sign in favor of “The Bluest Eye” during the uesday, Dec. 9, 2025, Redlands school board meeting. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
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Both books have been challenged in school districts across the nation, with “The Bluest Eye” making a 2024 top 10 list as one of the most banned books in the country, as tracked by the American Library Association.
Speakers at Tuesday night’s meeting argued whether the importance of these books’ roles in helping students confront the issue of assault outweighed the sexual and violent content within the books.
Many who want the books to remain in libraries waved signs that read “Read the Whole Book.” Speakers on the other side of the argument went to the podium to read sexually explicit scenes from the two challenged novels.
Some speakers said the books are important because the Redlands Unified School District has seen several cases of sexual abuse that has left the district with oversight by the California Department of Justice.
“They are raw and powerful narratives about trauma,” parent Katherine Appleby told the board.
The books don’t glorify assault, they name it, and allow students to confront it and understand it, she said.
Removing the books would leave students “more vulnerable and makes them less equipped to discuss things that happen to them and around them,” Appleby said.
Lawrence Hebron, a past Redlands school board candidate, said the books described the “the dirtiest things in the dirtiest language.”
“Should these matters be addressed and discussed?” Hebron asked. “Of course, but not by children.”
Th issue isn’t about banning books, he said, but about protecting children.
The Redlands district has three copies of “The Bluest Eye,” split between two high school libraries: at the alternative Orangewood High School and Redlands East Valley High School. It has two copies of “Push,” one at Orangewood High and one at Citrus Valley High School.
At Citrus Valley, “The Bluest Eye” was acquired in 2009 and has been checked out 11 times. At Redlands East Valley, it was obtained in 1997 and was checked out 49 times. Redlands High School got the book in 2012; it has been checked out 15 times.
“Push” was acquired in 2011 and been checked out 11 times.
The books were challenged under a revised school district policy passed by the board in August. The policy requires that books be pulled from the shelf and examined within 45 days by a committee of district officials. The committee uses a rubric that grades books in five areas, rating them for sexual and violent content and determining if they are age appropriate.
The final policy is a revision of one introduced in March. Trustees moved forward with the rule in June and board President Michelle Rendler was the deciding vote in July, when the board sent the policy back to administrators.
Critics have called the policy a retread of one voted on by Chino Valley Unified in 2024 and have accused the board of violating state Assembly Bill 1078, which was signed into law in 2023. That law bars book bans in community and school libraries and prohibits censorship of instructional materials and library books.
