NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: Oct. 26, 2023
Nassau County Citizens Defending Freedom leads the charge in having explicit books reviewed
FERNANDINA BEACH, FL–After battling for over a year to have sexually explicit books removed from local schools, parents and Nassau County Citizens Defending Freedom are finally seeing forward momentum.
Last year, Nassau County Citizens Defending Freedom began identifying and challenging books that contain sexually explicit and graphic content. Many of the books, such as Tricks by Ellen Hopkins, A Court of Mist and Fury and A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah Maas, have been reviewed, rated as containing “harmful and obscene content,” and ultimately removed by numerous school districts across the nation.
Regardless of how other districts handled the removal of these books, the Nassau County School District initially pushed back their review and removal. Jack Knocke, Executive Director for Nassau County Citizens Defending Freedom, sent countless emails, made calls and attended school board meetings to plead with the board to remove books that were deemed inappropriate. His dedicated and persistent efforts, as well as countless parents and members of the community, have finally made an impact. The superintendent of Nassau County Schools notified Knocke that they have removed several books for review and will continue to identify and review problematic books moving forward.
“It shouldn’t take months for a school district to take action and remove books that contain demonstrably obscene and explicit content from their shelves,” Knocke stated. “Nassau County Citizens Defending Freedom wants to personally thank our Superintendent and the School Board for acting responsibly to get offensive books that violate state statutes out of the hands of children. Our school libraries are no place to have books like these.”