Renowned novelist says London board's teaching ban of his book is like 'burying our heads in the sand'

A prominent Canadian novelist is speaking out after a local high school teacher was ordered to stop teaching one of his award-winning novels in class because of its use of the N-word.

Lawrence Hill said the teacher, who works for the London District Catholic School Board (LDCSB), was told to stop teaching The Book of Negroes and that "under no circumstances am I to teach a novel using" the word.

"Although it may be well intentioned … my concern is that it essentially excludes, completely excludes, Black voices from the curriculum," Hill told CBC Radio's Afternoon Drive on Tuesday.

"Black musicians and screenwriters, and novelists like me, we go to that word as part of our lived experience, and when we do feel the need to use it, it's in the context of writing about racial oppression or racial discrimination. It's generally in the context of opposing it."

In a recent op-ed in the Globe and Mail, Hill wrote he was contacted by the London teacher, who told him she had taught his novel to her Grade 12 students as required reading for 15 years. The N-word appears 23 times in his novel, Hill's op-ed says. CBC News is not identifying the teacher.

"She told me that her board's executive superintendent informed her that the word harms students, and that she was no longer allowed to require students to read any book containing the word. Instead, she was told, educators should focus on literature that celebrates 'Black joy,'" Hill wrote in the op-ed.

An LDCSB official told Hill that his book would still be available for student learning in libraries and classrooms. Students could also select it voluntarily for classroom novel study. However, they said, the board must be "mindful of the diverse sensitivities and experiences" of students.

"Due to the triggering language and content present in The Book of Negroes, and several students who have expressed concerns, we are not able to make it required/mandatory reading for formal assessment."

In a statement to CBC, Mark Adkinson, the board's spokesperson, said it was not banning or censoring books.

"However, we take an informed approach that certain books containing triggering language and content should not be required or mandatory reading for assessment in our schools," he said.

He added that staff follow an internal discernment tool before considering use of a resource in class and all educators are expected to follow the Ontario curriculum.

Hill told CBC the word comes with a violent and atrocious history, but noted members of the Black community have reappropriated it and teens likely come across it multiple times a day already.

"The word abounds in Black culture today, so it's sort of burying our heads in the sand if we think we're protecting students from this word when they're exposed to it all day long."

He added it's possible to discuss the word and the history of racism and violence against Black people without actually saying the word aloud in class.