School district decides against "Beloved" ban

A Michigan school district has decided to keep one of two books it had considered banning from its curriculum.

“Beloved” by Toni Morrison is a novel that deals with slavery. It contains physical and sexual abuse, and the murder of a child by her mother, so her daughter won’t be sent into slavery.

After two parents complained the Plymouth-Canton school superintendent ordered the book removed from an advanced placement English class.

That drew an outcry from the community.

On Friday, the district decided not to ban the book.

Brian Read teaches English at Salem High School in  Plymouth.

"I think by the time students are juniors and seniors in high school, they're ready to go out in the world pretty soon," Read says. "They're about to go off to college where they're going to have to tackle difficult issues and topics."

The district is still evaluating whether a second book – “Waterland” by Graham Swift – should be pulled from the curriculum.