Midland, Texas high schoolers have access to the vulgar book “PUSH” in their school libraries. The book contains graphic depictions of rape, abuse, and predatory incest.
Turning Point Faith Contributor, Pastor John Amanchukwu, confronted Midland Independent School District board members at a public meeting held on Tuesday and read excerpts from “PUSH.”
The book contains graphic details of sexual assault from the point of view of a fictional, illiterate teenager who had been raped, beaten, and abused by her father when she was as young as seven years old. The author, Sapphire, published the book in 1996 and said that it was a “composite of a lot of young women I ran into while I was teaching literacy in Harlem and in the Bronx.” One young woman in particular who she met with was raped by her father and gave birth to a child with autism at just 12 years old. “I remember I couldn’t even talk to her after that,” Sapphire recollected in a 1996 interview promoting the book.
“Well, she [the girl she interacted with] becomes a living, breathing character. She– she took over the book,” Sapphire said. “[O]nce this character started to come to me, it was– she– she became, like– I could feel her … I could feel her. I could smell her. I could– I could– I was obsessed with her.”
Although it contains disturbing descriptions of rape, assault, and incest resulting in the birth of two children, enough to unsettle any adult, the book was placed in the Legacy High School Midland, Texas high school library.
Please be advised that the following video contains explicit language. Viewer discretion is advised.
“Is this book that you’re referencing in one of our libraries?” one of the female board members asked Amanchukwu while he was addressing the board Tuesday night.
“It is,” he replied. “It’s in Legacy High School.”
The board member then asked for the title of the book and who it was authored by, which Amanchukwu gave her before he proceeded to read excerpts from the book.
“This needs to be removed tonight. We have six men on this board, and I want to say to these men on this board, if you don’t remove this book, you’re either a punk or a pervert,” Amanchukwu said to the board. “If you leave it in here, you’re a punk or a pervert. Remove the trash, take it out tonight. These students deserve better.”
After stating this, police officers approached the podium and escorted the pastor out of the auditorium where the meeting was held.
One board member, Michael Booker, followed Amanchukwu outside and promised to work to remove the book from campuses as soon as possible. After a video of the interaction was shared on Turning Point Faith’s Instagram account, a woman responded, identifying herself as Booker’s wife, and claimed that the book had been removed from the campus.
TPUSA contacted Booker to request confirmation that the book has been removed, though he has not yet responded to the request. TPUSA will update this article to reflect additional information or comments provided by the Midland Independent School District.
“As concerned citizens have come face-to-face with the corrupt curricula and woke agenda foisted upon their kids by activist teachers, administrators, and school boards, the realization that our most basic institutions are compromised has shocked their souls,” Amanchukwu told TPUSA. “In light of this, many parents and communities are now ready to take decisive action to protect their children.”
Turning Point USA would like to thank Dr. Bob for his contributions that allow Pastor Amanchukwu to pursue stories that shed light on corruption within the public education system.
