COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by late author Toni Morrison is being removed from school library shelves in Cobb County, a decision district leaders say is aimed at keeping sexually explicit material out of students’ hands.
The book, The Bluest Eye, will no longer be available in media centers at Cobb County middle and high schools.
The decision follows a review by Cobb County Schools Superintendent Chris Ragsdale and his executive cabinet who cited graphic descriptions of sexual assault, incest and violence as reasons for removing the novel.
During a recent school board meeting, Ragsdale read a passage from the book that described a sexual assault involving a father and daughter. We are not publishing the passage because of its graphic content.
“What’s your response to the backlash you will likely get from this decision?” Channel 2 Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell asked Ragsdale.
“The response is again this is not a book ban,” Ragsdale said.
“We’re removing access to sexually explicit material that, if a parent wants their child to access, that is a parental decision at home, not in school.”
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Ragsdale told Newell the book was not flagged by parents. Instead, he said an educator brought it to his attention.
“They were aware we have removed sexually explicit materials in the past, and they said, ‘Well, what about this book?’ And I said, ‘Well, I’m not sure, but I’ll check,’” Ragsdale said.
Newell also asked Ragsdale about the review process used to evaluate books.
The superintendent said there is no formal review committee that determines whether books should be removed.
“There’s not a committee,” he said. “It’s my executive cabinet and readers that we have to engage in this material.”
Ragsdale acknowledged he did not read the entire novel before making his decision.
“I read the excerpts that were deemed to be sexually explicit,” he said.
He added that the final decision rests with him.
“Ultimately it’s my decision whether or not to remove books from our schools because of the sexually explicit material contained within them.”
According to the district, The Bluest Eye is the 37th book removed from Cobb County school libraries. District officials said 36 other books by various authors have previously been removed under similar standards.
Ragsdale told Newell the review process will continue whenever concerns are raised about books available to students.
“I’m sure there are other books out there. This process is going to be ongoing as long as we’re made aware of books that contain sexually explicit material, then we’re going to conduct the investigation,” he said.
Other school districts around the country have also removed The Bluest Eye from school libraries. Cobb County officials said no other books written by Morrison have been removed.
Previous books the Cobb County School District has removed:
Removed in 2025:
- American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
- Dead End by Jason Myers
- Triangles by Ellen Hopkins
- A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard
Removed in 2024:
- Summer of Owen Todd
- More Happy Than Not
- This Book Is Gay
- We Know It Was You
- The Sun and Her Flowers
- City of Saints and Thieves
- A Court of Wings and Ruin
- A Court of Thorns and Roses
- A Court of Mist and Fury
- A Court of Frost and Starlight
- A Court of Silver Flames
- Ironfire
- Laid
- Crank
- Tricks
- Push
- Milk and Honey
- It Starts with Us
- The Infinite Moment of Us
- Casual Vacancy
- Identical
- Boys Aren’t Blue
- Juliet Takes a Breath
- Monday’s Not Coming
- City of Thieves
Removed in 2023:
- Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl
- Flamer
- Blankets
- It Ends with Us
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower
- Lucky
- Thirteen Reasons Why
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