Homophobe Kirk Cameron Promoting Alternative to ‘Harmful’ Scholastic Book Fairs

Author: Trudy Ring

Right-wing actor Kirk Cameron has found a new way to spread his conservative Christian gospel, promoting what he calls “wholesome book fairs” for schools as an alternative to Scholastic’s events, which he dubs “harmful.”

Cameron is partnering with SkyTree Book Fairs, a relatively new nonprofit, and is scheduled to appear at one the fairs Saturday in Virginia.

“You can replace these harmful Scholastic book fairs with helpful, wholesome book fairs, with 500 books that have all been vetted and screened to take out all of the nasty pornography and the critical race theory and the race stuff,” Cameron said in a video posted to X (formerly Twitter).

Scholastic’s book fairs have been an institution in elementary schools and middle schools for decades. But this year, Scholastic, the world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books, has run up against content restrictions in schools across the country. The restrictions almost always focus on books that deal with LGBTQ+ themes or the effects of racism.

Scholastic responded by putting certain books in a separate collection for its elementary school fairs and letting school officials decide whether to include any or all of the collection. Scholastic was criticized by advocates for freedom of expression and didn’t satisfy those who find such content objectionable either. Scholastic announced that next year, these books won’t be separated but mixed with others, but individual schools will still be able to decide what titles to include.

SkyTree claims on its website that Scholastic book fairs include “sexually explicit content aimed at young kids.” The site decries Scholastic books that deal with gender transition or same-sex romance, although most of these are suggested not for “young kids” but for teens.

Cameron, a SkyTree board member, will appear at its first book fair, being held Saturday at Riverbend High School in Spotsylvania County, Va., according to The Free Lance-Star,a local newspaper. But at least 700 public and private schools around the U.S. have begun the process of replacing Scholastic fairs with SkyTree events, he said in the video.

Cameron will be reading from his new book, The Fox, the Fair, and the Invention Scare at the Virginia event. The actor, who rose to fame as a youth with the TV series Growing Pains, is now mostly devoting himself to conservative Christian causes and promoting his children’s books. He has been outspokenly anti-LGBTQ+, having said that homosexuality is “unnatural, detrimental, and destructive.” He has also complained about libraries not wanting to carry his books and hosting drag queen story hours.

The Spotsylvania County public school system has already seen some battles over what books to carry. Superintendent Mark Taylor removed more than 30 titles from high school libraries after they were challenged for not complying with the system’s instructional materials policy, The Free Lance-Star reports. The school board is considering changes to the policy to make it even more restrictive. The system has also adopted Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s anti-transgender policies.

One board member, Kirk Twigg, called last year for the burning of LGBTQ+ books. Some other board members were quick to object to his language, however. Twigg was charged in February with forging a public record related to school business. He has pleaded not guilty.

Original Article on The Advocate
Author: Trudy Ring