Fallout from the removal earlier this month of the Pulitzer-prize winning graphic novel "Maus: A Survivor's Tale" from the eighth grade curriculum in McMinn County, Tennessee, continued this week as local folks weighed in on the matter in social media posts and at least one event was set next week to discuss the book and its subject.
While many of those posting comments supported inclusion of author Art Spiegelman's book in the curriculum, a smaller number defended the school board's unanimous Jan. 10 vote to remove it.
According to the Tennessee Holocaust Commission, Tennessee students are required to study the Holocaust and genocide as part of the mandated social studies curriculum beginning in fifth grade. The commission was created by the General Assembly in 1984 with a mission to educate Tennesseans about the Holocaust.
The history of the Holocaust should be taught in schools because a thorough study helps students think about the use and abuse of power and the roles and responsibilities of people, organizations and nations when confronted with human rights violations, according to the commission's website.
"Study of the Holocaust assists students in developing an understanding of the ramifications of prejudice, racism, antisemitism and stereotyping in any society," the site states. "It helps students develop an awareness of the value of diversity in a pluralistic society and encourages sensitivity to the positions of minorities."
But opponents of the book on the McMinn County school board who voted to remove it objected to its images and language, rather than the topic.
Spiegelman's book tells the story of the Holocaust with Nazis as cats and Jews as mice, but a human character, the author's mother, is shown naked in one drawing after committing suicide in a bathtub. "Maus" is about Spiegelman's father, who survived the Holocaust.
The book depicts events during the Holocaust, the mass murder of 6 million European Jews and other groups by the Nazi Germans before and during World War II. Much of the violence - and many of the curse words - shown in the book are attributed to the perpetrators of genocide.
(READ MORE: Whitwell, Tennessee's unlikely legacy: The Children's Holocaust Memorial turns 20)
The Complete Maus, a novel by Art Spiegelman. The book tells the story of Vladek Spiegelman's experience of surviving in Hitler's Europe. / Staff photo by Kim Sebring
School officials in a statement issued Thursday said the book was removed "because of its unnecessary use of profanity and nudity and its depiction of violence and suicide," the statement said.
On the page belonging to a public Facebook group dubbed, "I Love Athens, Tennessee," one parent wanted to protect her child from improper language in any part of teacher instruction.
"It's bad enough our kids have to go to school and hear it and then you want teachers to teach it?" Stephanie Collins Shanahan wrote.
Another echoed her sentiments, while saying there is room for older youths to read it.
"The matter is, it's not appropriate for eighth graders," Amy Sherlin Watson wrote in her post. "[There] are some parents still that care and monitor what their children read, watch and do. The book is geared for older students - young adults. So it's great if you want to put the book in libraries for young adults."
On another Facebook page called "City of Athens, Tennessee (Original Group)," one woman said there was no excuse for the language.
"It's not ok to take God out of the school system and allow a book that says GD," Debbie Brown wrote. "I don't see how a book that takes the Lord's name in vain was ever selected to teach children anything."
But one local resident said he'd bought copies of the book to make sure they were available.
"So I just bought 15 copies and am going to see if the local public library will take them for their young adult section," Jer Alexander wrote in his post. "At most, the book represents difficult human concepts ... with mice. Teenagers can handle historical truths and more challenging concepts better than most adults give them credit for."
In an update, Alexander said Athens' E.G. Fisher Public Library agreed to take the copies of "Maus" when they arrive.
Local author Tyler L. Boyd attempted to bring reason to the debate and offered criticism on all sides in a social media post. Boyd has written a book about his uncle and Tennessee lawmaker, Harry T. Burn, and Burn's mother, Febb Ensminger Burn, who urged her son to cast the deciding vote when the Tennessee legislature ratified the 19th Amendment in 1920 granting women the right to vote.
Boyd said the debate casts the community in an unflattering light it doesn't deserve.
"It is a shame that even international news outlets reported on this. I am not surprised the local news showed up because they are always desperate for a 'story.'" he said. "But the BBC and CNN love painting Southern, rural places as bigoted, inbred hicks. Like I said, I agree the school board really handled this poorly and could have made a better decision. But stop vilifying them. This isn't a big deal. The Holocaust has, does, and will continue to be taught in our local schools, including in a necessarily graphic method in the appropriate age groups."
Boyd called for members of the community to stop arguing and to reunite.
"This is dividing us for no reason. Enough," he said.
Beyond bringing reason, at least one church in the community is seeking to unite people in the interest of better understanding.
In response to the uproar over "Maus," St. Paul's Episcopal Church on South Jackson Street in McMinn County's seat of Athens has set a date for a discussion about the book, according to a post about the meeting set for 7 p.m. Thursday at the church.
"Join us for a book-club style conversation about the 1992 Pulitzer-Prize winning graphic novel 'Maus,'" the St. Paul's meeting description said on the church's meeting page.
"Why have this conversation in church? Too many Christian churches in Europe and the United States did not raise protest against the events unfolding under Hitler's leadership in Europe, turning away from suffering and oppression out of fear or a misguided sense that those events were not their concern," the church post said. "We know that antisemitic violence is not a thing of the past but affects communities across the world and our own state today, and are committed to standing against hatred and harm. In the Episcopal Church at our baptism, we commit to strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being.
"Together, let's dive into this story so that we might better live out that call in our time and community," the post reads. "Please read the book ahead of our conversation so that we can fully engage with the text, giving it the attention and accurate reading it merits."
Acknowledging the controversial nature of "Maus" in the community, the church offered a warning that its content "contains some profanity and depictions and discussion of genocide."
St. Paul's parish rector, Claire Brown, said Friday in an online message to the Times Free Press the church is focusing on the importance of the topics "Maus" addresses, not the language and images.
"At St. Paul's, we are committed to accompanying one another through difficult conversations as part of our mission to serve, nourish, and love all people," Brown said. "This book discussion event is for the parish and McMinn County community to gather together and dive into 'Maus,' and to explore the moral responsibility we have to learn and keep history alive, especially the responsibility of Christians to stand against antisemitism past and present. This is an important book, and we are thankful for an opportunity to make its story known and have meaningful conversations and community education about the topic."
Brown urged anyone with questions to call the church office at 423-745-2224 or email the priest at cbrown@stpaulsathens.org.
Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton.
(NYT10) NEW YORK -- Art Spiegelman at work in his lower Manhattan studio on July 22, 2003. Spiegelman is known as the creator of "Maus," the Pulitzer Prize-winning comic-strip book about his parents as Holocaust survivors. (Sara Krulwich/The New York Times).