Scholastic’s decision is necessary but awful

Scholastic announced that its elementary-school book fairs will now have a separate section for titles that deal with race, gender, and sexuality — a response to dozens of state laws that restrict how those subjects are discussed in schools.

This will allow schools to include — or exclude — these books from their school book fair.

Let’s be abundantly clear about this need for this differentiation in their books:

It results from racists and bigots making the laws in these states.

This separate catalog of 64 titles includes a children’s biography of Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, a fantasy novel about a Lakota girl, and a book about different family types, such as adoptive families and families with same-sex parents.

Some contain basic history, such as “I Am Ruby Bridges,” about school integration, and “Because of You, John Lewis,” about the civil rights leader’s role in the 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.

These are not firebrand titles, conspiracy theories, oversexualized stories, or calls for reparations. These are books about a sitting Supreme Court justice, an indigenous girl, uncontested history about American heroes, and the realities of family life in America.

Only a racist would oppose a book about Ketanji Brown Jackson or Ruby Bridges.

Only a bigot would oppose a book that acknowledges the reality of same-sex parents.

I’m not thrilled with Scholastic’s decision to make these titles optional for schools, but I also understand that state laws may require this separation to bring books to children and much-need fundraising to schools.

But it’s awful. Racist and bigoted and disgusting.