A Wake school librarian: Why ‘Gender Queer’ needs to stay on the shelves
Welcome to NC Voices, where leaders, readers and experts from across North Carolina can speak on issues affecting our communities. Send submissions of 300 words or fewer to opinion@newsobserver.com.
Reverse decision on LGBTQ+ book
The writer is a Wake County Public School System librarian at Knightdale High School.
If you read the controversial “Gender Queer,” you know it is about the confusion of an adolescent struggling with gender identity, something we don’t have a lot of publications about or even understanding of it.
After my students talked to me about what non-binary actually was, I read “Gender Queer” and found it to be very informative about what it means not to fit into a binary box. It is a graphic novel with a very cartoon-like style, definitely not pornography or obscenity.
Does it make some people uncomfortable? Yes. And that’s OK, because it is their right not to read it or check it out from the library.
By removing this book, the Wake County public library system has violated my rights as a patron and subjected me to an agenda that is bent on forcing certain beliefs and values on all patrons, discouraging us from thinking critically about the world we live in if it might make someone uncomfortable.
We are Wake County, an urban community with a large LGBTQ+ population, the very same people who have been verbally abused by our lieutenant governor. I can only imagine where this will lead...
The decision by Wake County Public Libraries to pull “Gender Queer” out of circulation should be reversed. You may not need “Gender Queer” but someone does.
Kristel Behrend, Raleigh
Gov. Cooper must pardon these men
I join others across the state calling on Gov. Roy Cooper to pardon Glen Edward Chapman and Michael Parker – two men who’ve been exonerated after being wrongfully imprisoned for at least 15 years.
Each is owed hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation from the state but cannot receive it unless the governor pardons them. They’ve spoken about the incredible financial strain of starting over and how this money would have a transformative impact on their lives, and yet the governor still fails to act.
For three months North Carolinians have protested each Friday in front of the Governor’s Mansion, calling for pardons. We were encouraged to see Cooper’s recent pardon of Dontae Sharpe and Tuesday’s pardon of Howard Dudley of Kinston who served more than 20 years for a crime he did not commit.
The state has stolen precious years from Chapman and Parker — time they cannot get back. The least the governor can do is allow them to receive the compensation that they are owed. Before this year ends, Cooper must do what is right and grant them pardons.
Rev. Lisa Garcia-Sampson, Durham
Latinx kids need better healthcare
The writer is a pediatrician and primary care research fellow at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Latinx children are the fastest growing segment of North Carolina’s child population, but more than three times as likely to be uninsured compared to non-Latinx kids. Approximately 11% of the N.C. population is Latinx, and almost 40% are children and teens. This leads to a large proportion of our children who aren’t getting the care they need, a trend that’s worsening.
One solution we can support is a statewide outreach campaign in English and Spanish to increase Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) enrollment of eligible children. By creating partnerships with schools, federally qualified health clinics and community organizations, we can reach families to increase enrollment.
We can also make current policies more inclusive. Oregon’s Cover All Kids program, which expanded Medicaid to undocumented children, could be implemented here. In Oregon, it decreased avoidable emergency room visits and increased teen vaccination rates. We can also implement Express Lane Eligibility, which simplifies the eligibility process for Medicaid and CHIP.
When discussing Medicaid expansion we must remember it’s not just adults who benefit. We can do better to cover children. If we work together toward inclusive policies, North Carolina can become a state known for its dedication to our children’s well-being.
Dr. Brittany Raffa
This story was originally published December 22, 2021 at 4:30 AM with the headline "A Wake school librarian: Why ‘Gender Queer’ needs to stay on the shelves."