Throughout history, there have been countless efforts to ban books that some groups found to be inappropriate for children, even for some adults.

These self-appointed censors are at it again, egged on by the current hysteria surrounding critical race theory and the fear that it will infiltrate our schools.

Although it has become the catchphrase of the day, many have varying ideas of what critical race theory is. So, here is the concept in a nutshell: Racism is pervasive, structurally embedded in American institutions. Any honest effort to eradicate racism has to involve changing how institutions function. Simply ending segregation and outlawing overtly racist policies is not enough, according to those who promote the concept.

This theory has infuriated former President Donald Trump and many of his supporters, so an effort is underway to prevent schools from teaching or promoting the idea that ours is primarily a racist society.

As best I can determine, no school district in the five-county Times News area teaches critical race theory, and none plans to do so in the near future. Nonetheless, groups are showing up at school board meetings to fight efforts that they believe might be a back-door entry for its introduction.

One such case surfaced recently in the Northampton Area School District where nearly a dozen residents turned out in July to object to the donation of 34 books to the elementary and middle school libraries and two more to the guidance office.

Ordinarily, such a free donation of this type would be welcomed with open arms, but not in this case. Catching wind of the impending donation, a group of parents mobilized and decided to present its objections to the school board, claiming that these books were inappropriate for the mostly white student population in the district, which is made up of the boroughs of Northampton, Bath and Chapman and Lehigh, Moore, Allen and East Allen townships.

The donation is being offered by The Conscious Kid, a nonprofit organization whose stated objective is to promote equity and “healthy racial identity development.” The organization says it supports families, educators and organizations in their quest to fight racism.

It is part of the organization’s plan to donate 120,000 books to 3,000 elementary and middle schools nationwide with the goal to “foster anti-racist conversations.”

A kindergarten teacher in the Northampton district saw a promotion from The Conscious Kid offering to donate the books for free, so she initiated the request, thinking that it would help the district’s students understand some of the components of racism.

Initially, the board tabled acceptance of the donation after the outcry from the parents who showed up at the July board meeting, then tabled the acceptance again earlier this month when about 50 supporters and objectors attended the latest board meeting.

Some of those who spoke against accepting the books said they were concerned more about the motives of the donating organization rather than the books themselves, branding it as a “Marxist” or “socialist” organization.

One board member who researched the organization disagreed with this assessment. He made a motion to urge the district to research and collect resources that would address diversity. The motion passed unanimously. The board president read a statement which indicated that the donation complies with district policy.

In a little more than a month we will observe Banned Books Week (Sept. 26-Oct. 2), whose theme this year is “books unite us; censorship divides us.”

In announcing this year’s theme, the organization said it is intended to be inclusive and “emphasize the ways in which books and information bring people together, help individuals see themselves in the stories of others and aid the development of empathy and understanding for people from other backgrounds.”

Banned Books Week spotlights current and historical attempts to censor books in libraries and schools. According to the 2020 list, two literary classics are among the 10 most banned books in the nation - Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird” and John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men.” The most banned book is “George” by Alex Gino, because it has been restricted for LGBTQIA content, conflict with religious viewpoints and “not reflecting the values of our communities.”

In districts where banned, school officials said they did so because the books contained racial slurs and because of their “negative effects on students.”

Growing up in all-white Summit Hill back in the 1940s and ’50s, anti-black sentiment was palpable. We were exposed to racial epithets daily. Being the son of immigrant parents, I was subjected to frequent ethnic name-calling.

When I became one of our two school orators in my junior year at Summit Hill High School, I began competing in oratorical and declamation contests throughout Eastern Pennsylvania.

Some of these put me in competition with black students whom I came to know on a personal basis. It was the first time I had had conversations or any kind of interaction with any person of a different color, and its impact on me was remarkable. I came to realize that here was an entire segment of the population about which I had little to no firsthand knowledge, and I wanted to know more.

One of the first books I read on this topic was Richard Wright’s memoir “Black Boy” (1945) in which he detailed his upbringing in the South and his move to Chicago where he established his writing career. Although it received acclaim because of Wright’s forthright depiction of racism in the United States, the book was hugely controversial, and for many years it was banned from school libraries.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.