The Court of Justice of Minas Gerais determined last Thursday (27) the immediate cancellation of the suspension of activities involving the book “O Menino Marrom”, by Ziraldo, from schools in Conselheiro Lafaiete, central region of Minas Gerais.
In the decision, judge Espagner Vaz Leite, states that the city council claimed that the suspension is the result of complaints and negative opinions from the students’ parents about the work. They would have stated that it would have “aggressive” content and would induce children to “do bad things” in certain passages. Click here to see excerpts from the book.
Furthermore, the judge considers that the determination of the municipal Education Department of the municipality “is in disagreement with the Federal Constitution and infra-constitutional legislation” and that the only censorship that can be applied in these cases is that of indicative classification.
“The suspension of a book that portrays racism in a pertinent manner is inappropriate, because, by doing so, the Public Administration is preventing (the same as preventing) students from learning important lessons for their development as citizens of a diverse and plural society,” added Vaz.
The decision can still be appealed and the municipality of Conselheiro Lafaiete has up to 20 days to contest it. If the decision is not complied with, the city hall will receive a daily fine of R$5,000.
Last week, the city hall praised Ziraldo’s book and stated that the book was a valuable resource and “one of the main children’s works to address social issues”. From 1986, Ziraldo’s book tells the story of a brown boy and his friend, a pink boy. The two want to discover the mystery of colors together, and end up learning about diversity, respect and friendship between different people.
The city hall regretted the situation, highlighting that there had been ambiguous interpretations, but that the secretary proceeded with the suspension to improve the readjustment of the pedagogical approach and avoid misinterpretations.
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Source: CNN Brasil
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