Florida school district pulls children's book about Roberto Clemente off shelves
A large Florida school district has pulled an illustrated children’s biography of Pittsburgh Pirates legend Roberto Clemente off its shelves to determine whether it is “developmentally appropriate for student use.”
Duval County Public Schools, which includes the city of Jacksonville, said in a news release it is “taking further steps to comply with Florida laws on library books.”
Those laws, the district said, require books in schools to be free of pornography; instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through third grade; and discrimination “in such a way that an individual, by virtue of his or her race, color, sex or national origin, is inherently racist or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously.”
PEN America, a New York-based nonprofit that works to defend free expression, reported the district had removed at least 176 titles from classrooms. They include works such as “My Two Dads and Me,” “My Two Moms and Me,” “Celebrating Different Beliefs,” “The Gift of Ramadan,” “The Berenstain Bears and the Big Question” and books about Rosa Parks, the Underground Railroad and Japanese internment camps during World War II.
Also removed was “Roberto Clemente: The Pride of the Pittsburgh Pirates,” a 2005 book by Dormont’s Jonah Winter.
The 32-page book references racism Clemente sometimes endured.
“As a right-fielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates, (Clemente) fought tough opponents — and even tougher racism — but with his unreal catches and swift feet, he earned his nickname, ‘The Great One,’ ” a blurb for the book reads.
“He led the Pirates to two World Series, hit 3,000 hits and was the first Latino to be inducted into the Hall of Fame,” the blurb adds. “But it wasn’t just baseball that made Clemente legendary — he was also a humanitarian dedicated to improving the lives of others.”
Winter, 60, said he never imagined the book would be at the center of controversy.
“Absolutely not,” said Winter, who grew up in Dallas but considered Clemente his favorite player and the Pirates his favorite team. “I would have hoped that, in the 21st century, there would be nothing controversial about a book about Roberto Clemente, the greatest all-around baseball player who ever lived and a true humanitarian.”
“I make mention of the racism that Clemente encountered as a younger player,” Winter said. “I guess they banned it because they think it might make some white children uncomfortable. These are very strange times that we live in.”
Winter said sales of the 18-year-old book increased after news of the book being removed from school shelves came out.
“They don’t hurt sales. They don’t hurt authors. They hurt children in the school districts where this is happening,” Winter said.
Duval County Public Schools, one of the nation’s largest districts with more than 120,000 students, could not immediately answer questions about the review of the Clemente book.
Clemente’s son reacts
Roberto Clemente Jr., Clemente’s oldest son, said he initially was taken aback after learning that the book was removed from school shelves.
But after researching the issue and then rereading the book, which he owns, he said he is “not really going to fuss about it.”
Referring to a part in the book where the Pirates legend said he encountered discrimination because he was Black and Puerto Rican, Clemente Jr. said, “I think that statement is where they had that issue.”
Clemente Jr., who lives in the South Hills, added: “If you have a child who does not see color on anyone and you’re going to now plant that seed that we are a different color, that is where I agree 100%. We are the same as far as I am concerned. We are all the human race.”
“I would teach my son about racism because I went through it personally. But putting that issue out there in school, especially with very young children, opens the door to how teachers could possibly use it for their agenda.”
Clemente Museum responds
Duane Rieder, executive director of the Clemente Museum in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood, posted a statement Friday on social media sites.
“At the museum, we believe in telling the whole story of Clemente’s life,” Rieder said in the statement. “His on the field prowess, his numerous humanitarian deeds up to and including his untimely death, and unfortunately the racism that he faced throughout his life. Sportswriters would often ridicule Roberto by printing ”I heet the ball’ in articles. He was immensely proud to be from Puerto Rico.”
Rieder said the decision to remove the book from Duval County schools “saddens” him.
“The Roberto Clemente children’s book written by Jonah Winter and illustrated by Raúl Colón being banned from some Florida schools saddens me, as I believe Roberto’s story teaches children how to be kind to each other and work toward a common goal of decency.” he said.
Tom Fontaine is a TribLive deputy managing editor. A journalist in his native Western Pennsylvania for more than 25 years, he joined the Trib in 2009 and has won regional, state and national awards. He can be reached at tfontaine@triblive.com.
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