After outcry, Texas lieutenant governor says schools should teach ‘Night’ and other Holocaust books

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick clarifies to JTA that his push to remove 'dirty, filthy and vulgar books' from school libraries was not meant to include Holocaust books, specifically naming 'Night' and 'The Diary of Anne Frank.' Patrick had previously included 'Night' on a removal list, but now says local communities should decide and defers to the state board on grade-level appropriateness. This follows an August press conference where he threatened funding loss for non-compliance, and an earlier social media post arguing the book was inappropriate for middle schools due to violence. Patrick is up for reelection this fall. The clarification comes after confusion over an activist group's list that also included 'Maus' and 'The Fixer.'

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has clarified to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that his recent call for public schools to remove over 2,000 'dirty, filthy and vulgar books' was not meant to include Holocaust-related titles. In a statement provided exclusively to JTA on Friday, Patrick said, 'I believe Texas students must learn about the Holocaust, and that includes reading books such as 'Night' by Elie Wiesel, 'The Diary of Anne Frank,' and other books about the Holocaust.' This clarification comes after a month of confusion following an August 19 press conference where Patrick, alongside conservative activist Bonnie Wallace of Recover America, threatened schools with loss of state funding if they did not comply. The activist group's online list of 'Harmful Books in Libraries' includes 'Night,' both volumes of Art Spiegelman's 'Maus,' a comic-book adaptation of Frank's diary, and Bernard Malamud's 'The Fixer.' Patrick had initially doubled down on 'Night' in an August 26 social media post, arguing it was inappropriate for middle schools due to its 'violence' and 'machine-gunning of babies,' contradicting a state mandate to teach the book in 8th grade starting 2030. He now says he defers to the State Board of Education on grade-level decisions and that 'local communities have the right to make their own decisions.' Patrick is up for reelection this fall.