A Texas middle school named for a Black author deemed parts of his biography 'not appropriate' for students

• A Texas middle school named after a Black author said some parts of his biography are "not appropriate" for students.
• George Dawson's "Life Is So Good" is under review in the district after a teacher said she wanted to teach it to her seventh-grade class.

A Texas school district has deemed parts of a Black author's biography "not appropriate" for middle school students, even though one of the middle schools in the district is named after the writer.

Carroll Independent School District in Southlake, Texas, is currently reviewing whether the book "Life is So Good," written by George Dawson and Richard Glaubman, is appropriate for seventh graders in the district, including those who go to Dawson Middle School, according to a statement from Carroll ISD Superintendent Dr. Lane Ledbetter that was shared with Insider.

The district said in the statement that the book has neither been banned nor challenged by any parent. Instead, the district determined that some of the content in the book was inappropriate for students after a seventh-grade teacher requested to teach it in her class, the district said.

The district said the content was reviewed through their annual curriculum review process of required readings and requested readings. It found that one chapter of the book contained content that was inappropriate for a seventh grade classroom.

The district declined to share which portions of the biography it believes are inappropriate but said in the statement that it will "allow the book to be used with teacher-led instruction in a few sections of the book where the teacher can facilitate the delivery of sensitive content and still convey the message of the author."

It added that the school's principal and teacher in question will "ensure that sensitive content is delivered in the most age-appropriate manner, while maintaining the integrity of the content of the book, the author's intended message, and certainly honoring the legacy of Mr. Dawson."

Dawson, a lifelong resident of Dallas, was the grandson of a slave and did not learn to read until the age of 98. At 103, he published his biography with Glaubman.

Dawson's great-grandson, Chris Irvin, told local ABC News affiliate WFAA that he was confused by Carroll ISD's move considering he and his family have visited the school at least five times for a reading of "Life is So Good."

"That's hurtful," Irvin told WFAA of the book review. "You take away the bad and the ugly, and you only talk about the good, that doesn't add up."

"Black history is American history," Irvin continued. "You can't have one without the other. I can't go to your history and tell you, 'hey x that out of your life, that didn't happen.'"

Irvin told WFAA he suspects the first chapter, which details Dawson's friend's lynching after he was wrongly accused of raping a white woman, could be the problem.

"You can say, 'Hey, my life wasn't all good. My life wasn't all bad,'" Irvin said. "It's the whole puzzle piece that puts this all together that makes this worthwhile, makes us human."

Carroll ISD is currently the subject of a civil rights investigation by the US Department of Education, the Dallas Morning News reported.

The investigation was opened last year when the district previously made headlines for its stance on books.

At the time, a top administrator at Carroll ISD advised teachers in the district that if they want to have books about the Holocaust in their classrooms, they should also have books that offer "opposing" viewpoints, NBC News reported.