A school district in Florida has removed a children’s book about baseball legend Roberto Clemente, drawing the ire of the book’s author—but not Clemente’s son.
Duval County Public Schools, which is based in Jacksonville and has almost 130,000 enrolled students, pulled Roberto Clemente: Pride of the Pittsburgh Pirates, written by Jonah Winter and illustrated by Raúl Colón, from school shelves, WESA-FM reports.
The 2005 book explores the racism that Clemente, the Puerto Rican right fielder who died in a 1972 plane crash, faced during his career. A reviewer for Kirkus called it a “well-constructed introduction to a compassionate, dignified, multi-talented sports hero.”
Winter condemned the district’s decision, saying, “Children’s books generally right now, it’s a political football, and it’s being used by people in this county in Florida to score political points, and it has nothing to do with children I think, ultimately.”
Disagreeing with Winter was Clemente’s son Roberto Clemente Jr., a broadcaster and former baseball player. The younger Clemente told station WTAE-TV that he agreed with the district’s decision to remove the book pending review.
“It's a great book and a book that anyone can read, and the middle schoolers, I don't see an issue, but the younger ones absolutely, I do agree,” he said.
Clemente referenced an unspecified quote from the book that apparently dealt with the discrimination that his father, who had Black ancestry, faced as a professional athlete.
“I think that quote for a young child could be of great impact in terms of seeing color like that, and there is a consequence for me being this color if there is no separation from the beginning,” he said.
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.