An effort to overturn Utah’s sensitive materials law, which allows the removal of certain books from public schools, has another acclaimed author’s name behind it: The late poet Maya Angelou.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Utah announced Thursday that it amended a lawsuit filed in January against the Utah State Board of Education and others. The amended lawsuit adds the Caged Bird Legacy, the entity run by Angelou’s family to oversee her literary works, to the list of plaintiffs.
The group joins the estate of Kurt Vonnegut and three living authors, Elana K. Arnold, Ellen Hopkins and Amy Reed. The authors’ works have either been put on the statewide ban list or removed in some districts.
The amended lawsuit states that Angelou’s 1969 autobiography “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” has been removed from shelves in two Utah school districts. If three districts opt to remove a book, it would be banned in all schools statewide, as 22 other titles have been.
In “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” Angelou, who died in 2014, wrote about her childhood in the South, dealing with racism both overt and subtle from her neighbors and the community. She also recounted a sexual assault when she was 8, the lingering effects of that trauma, and a pregnancy when she was in high school.
A collection of books by authors Kurt Vonnegut, Amy Reed, Elana K. Arnold, and Ellen Hopkins.
The committee that reviews books in the Davis School District found Angelou’s book “contained sensitive material” under the state’s law “and thus constitutes pornographic or indecent material,” the amended lawsuit states.
In the Granite School District, the amended lawsuit states, a review of “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” is still “in progress.” However, the district removed that book from every school library in April 2024, according to the amended lawsuit.
Spokespeople for the Davis and Granite school districts did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.
Banning “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” the amended lawsuit argues, “causes Caged Bird Legacy professional harm and harms Dr. Angelou’s legacy.”
“Moreover, it prevents Dr. Angelou from reaching her intended audiences and deprives her intended audiences of access to constitutionally protected literature,” the complaint continues, “depriving young readers of the inspirational messages of perseverance, understanding, and hope in difficult circumstances.”
Stephanie Floyd-Johnson, Angelou’s daughter-in-law and manager of Caged Bird Legacy, said in a statement that the Angelou estate “fully supports” the lawsuit.
“Maya Angelou believed in the power of literature to illuminate truth, expand understanding, and affirm the dignity of every human being,” Floyd-Johnson said. “Efforts to silence or restrict access to stories, especially those speaking to race, identity, trauma and resilience, run counter to the values she championed throughout her life.”
In addition to the authors, two anonymous students and their parents are among the plaintiffs.
The lawsuit names the Utah State Board of Education and its 15 individual members as defendants, as well as Utah Attorney General Derek Brown and the Salt Lake City, Davis and Washington County school districts, plus each district’s superintendent in their individual capacities.
A spokesperson for the state school board on Friday reiterated a statement the agency shared in January: “We remain committed to fulfilling our responsibilities under state law and supporting local education agencies in serving Utah students.”