By Police1 Staff
MOUNT PLEASANT, SC – A police union is calling into question a local high school’s summer reading list, saying some of the material will cause an “indoctrination of distrust of police” in the incoming freshmen class.
The novels at the center of the controversy, “The Hate U Give” and “All American Boys,” are two of four books students can choose to read over the summer at Wando High School, according to News 2. Both deal in issues of police use of force and racism, casting police in a negative light, the union says.
“Freshmen, they’re at the age where their interactions with law enforcement have been very minimal,” President of the Fraternal Order of Police Tri-County Lodge #3 John Blackmon said. “They’re not driving yet, they haven’t been stopped for speeding, they don’t have these type of interactions. This is putting in their minds, it’s almost an indoctrination of distrust of police and we’ve got to put a stop to that.”
Blackmon said the union has received hundreds of messages from community members and police officers outraged over the books the school selected.
The school is currently reviewing the union’s request to remove the books from the summer reading list.