Photo via HCPSVideoChannel/YouTube (Screengrab by Creative Loafing Tampa Bay
Karla Correa, an activist with the Party for Socialism and Liberation, during a special workshop of the Hillsborough County School Board on March 28, 2023.
The session concerned the possible removal of Juno Dawson’s book, “This Book Is Gay,” a nonfiction young adult book about sexuality and gender, with a focus on the queer and LGBTQ+ community experience. The workshop ended with the board voting 4-3 to remove the book.
During public comment, Karla Correa, an activist with the Party for Socialism and Liberation, spoke to the board in support of the decision made by a Pierce Middle School committee which allowed the book to appear on shelves.
“We need to protect our LGBTQ students. We need to make sure that you know they have safe places to learn about what they need to learn about because the outside you know, the outside world doesn't always offer that,” Correa said.
“As we can see here, there's people with a really hateful agenda who don't want gay people to be able to exist or trans people to be able to exist freely. They want to send them back back in the closet,” Correa added. “But we as a community as a society, we have to make sure that we're not complicit in that, that we're not complicit.”
Correa said that Gov. Ron DeSantis has “a plan to genocide trans people and gay people,” adding that “this is part of the larger attacks on workers, on Black people on immigrants…”
She was then interrupted by Nadia Combs, Chair of the Hillsborough County School Board, who asked Correa to “make sure we just talk about the book, OK?”
Correa pointed out that the discussion “isn't just about the book, this is part of a much larger agenda to divide workers and to make sure that the state is a white supremacist, hateful state.”
That comment riled up the room, and Correa closed by saying she hoped, “This book is kept in schools and that no more books in Hillsborough County Schools are banned and we're not capitulating to. Ron DeSantis says white supremacist agenda,” before thanking the board.
Correa told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that she left to use the restroom, but was prevented from returning to the room by security and law enforcement.
Video obtained by CL shows security refusing to give their names and tell Correa she was being denied re-entry “because of your outburst.” Security then forces her to leave the building.
“Don’t touch me, don’t touch me,” Correa can be heard saying, “What outburst?”
“The board members don’t want me back in there because of some outburst I made in my speech,” Correa said in the video. “It was recorded, there was no outburst.”
“You can’t come back in, you just can’t come back in,” law enforcement told Correa in a second video from the incident.
“By who? Why?” Correa asked. “Isn’t this a public meeting?”
“We were told to have you removed by the board members,” another officer told Correa.
Michael G. McAuley, Chief of Staff at Hillsborough County Schools told CL that the board did not direct that any individual be removed from the building during the meeting. "There was a miscommunication during the meeting. The School Board welcomes public comment and will always allow access to public meetings. Ms. Correa is welcome to attend any future board meeting," he added.
Dave Coleman, an Extinction Rebellion activist who also spoke at the meeting, was outside when Correa was dragged out. “Was there an outburst?” Correa asked Coleman in the video?
“There was definitely no outburst on your part, but there was on the other side,” Coleman said in the video.
Coleman is referring to Brian Parris who spoke earlier, the only other speaker to have his mic muted. Parris opposed the book being in schools.
“This is breaking the law, everybody said it earlier,” Parris said. “China said they’d take over our country without firing one bullet, with indoctrination and Marxism.”
“Sir, please stick to the book, we’re talking about the book,” chair Combs said.
“This is about the book,” Paris screamed as his mic was shut off. “Why are you muting me?”
“We’ll restart your time,” Combs said.
“This is about a book in the library,” Jim Porter, school board attorney told Parris. “You need to focus your remarks on this specific book.”
“Well I have degrees too, I’m an expert, since everyone said they have degrees and they're an expert. I have degrees, too. I’m a United States military veteran.”
Parris continued engaging with Combs, despite being given additional time to speak before finally finishing his comments.
“As a veteran who has a degree too, this is not good material. This is pornographic, this is indoctrination, it’s sickening,” Parris said. “This shouldn’t be publicly funded. Just like abortions shouldn’t be publicly funded but that’s not the case today, I’m just saying.”
He was not removed from the meeting or prevented from returning.
After hearing public comments, Hillsborough County Schools Superintendent Addison Davis recommended removal of "This Book is Gay" from all middle schools.
"It is my recommendation after reviewing this book, reading this book, review chapter nine of this book and the requirements that are statutorily required it is my recommendation to remove 'This Book is Gay,' from all middle schools in Hillsborough County," Davis said.
Attorney Jim Porter initially recommended the board vote only to remove the book from Pierce Middle School.
"You can vote as you like, but there's a risk, not a great risk, that someone will challenge this decision," Porter said. "Because it's not in any other middle schools in the districts."
Ultimately, the board voted 4-3 to remove "This Book is Gay," from all middle schools despite Smith amending his motion to limit removal to only Pierce at the recommendation of legal counsel. Smith had wanted to bring it back for another meeting but the board voted against his amended recommendations. Nadia Combs, Jessica Vaughn and Karen Perez voted against removing the book from all schools.
According to a study by Vanderbilt University last year, “This Book is Gay” was the ninth most banned book in the country. Last week, Dawson posted a video on their Instagram in response to the current trend of book banning. Dawson also noted that the book is over 10 years old and includes a warning for explicit content.
“I felt as former teachers that sex education for LGBTQ teenagers wasn’t very good, they weren’t learning what they needed to keep them safe and healthy when they were in adult relationships,” Dawson said in the video. “What we're seeing now is a really organized attack on books because the far right is out of ideas. What else can you attack but trans health care, drag queens, and books? So I just want to thank the librarians and educators who are defending freedom of speech and the right for LGBTQ people to see themselves in books.”
UPDATED 04/02/23 3:23 p.m. Updated with comment from Michael G. McAuley, Chief of Staff at Hillsborough County Schools
