A Pennsylvania school board lifted its ban on anti-racism books by and about people of color a week after pressure and protest from students and others in the community.  

The murder of George Floyd and ensuing nationwide protests led to a higher interest in the school district to improve its educational tools on social justice. But after complaints by parents, the school implemented a “freeze” on several books and educational resources that predominately centered around people of color.  

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Last year, the Central York School District, which has an all-white school board, unanimously banned a list of educational resources that included Malala Yousafzai’s autobiography, CNN’s Sesame Street town hall on racism and a children’s book about Rosa Parks.  

A Central York High School student group was surprised to see the change in the school board’s decision.  

“The reversal of this ban was surprising but not surprising in a way most think,” Christina Ellis, vice president of the Panther Anti-Racist Union (PARU) said in a statement. “We hope that this was a lesson for this community and leadership: that injustice cannot and will not be tolerated any longer.”  

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The school board’s president, Jane Johnson, said it took the school entirely too long to review and reverse the ban.   

“What we are attempting to do is balance legitimate academic freedom with what could be literature/materials that are too activist in nature, and may lean more toward indoctrination rather than age-appropriate academic content,” Johnson said. “To that end, we recognize the intensity of opinions on all sides of these issues, and we are committed to making this long delay right.”