TAMPA, Fla. — Toni Morrison’s groundbreaking novel “The Bluest Eye” is headed back to Pinellas County high schools this week.
A committee of seven district media specialists spent nearly three hours Tuesday reviewing the title, which the superintendent’s staff banned from shelves and courses in January after receiving a parent’s informal complaint about a rape scene in its pages. The challenge started over one Palm Harbor University High class, and quickly expanded to the full county.
“After discussion, the team recommended that the district make ‘The Bluest Eye’ by Toni Morrison available for self-selection in district library media centers for students in grades 9, 10, 11 and 12 with no parental permission requirements,” district chief strategy officer Jennifer Dull wrote in an email to school board members.
