The graphic novels quickly became international best sellers and have been translated into 12 different languages. “I'm like, ‘Can the kid just go and get some ice cream and have a dad and mom that loves him and make some goofy dad jokes?’” None of the literature spoke to him as a child with a loving home and generally positive childhood, Craft said. “It was like, 300 years ago it was a struggle, or in the Civil Rights era it was a struggle, or if it was now it was the police, and it’s a struggle.” It was, I would say, ‘history or misery,’” he said. “When I did find books about Black people, it was always a struggle. Black authors were scarce, and books that focused on Black experience were overwhelmingly negative. They are largely based on Craft’s own experiences growing up, he said.Ĭraft stated that he was inspired to write the books because growing up, he struggled to find literature that represented him. The books focus on the life of a young Black student who attends a predominately white private school.
They were later reinstated after thousands of parents countered the dissenters and demanded that the books be returned, but the controversy continues in Katy ISD board meetings each month. The decorated author and cartoonist’s books “New Kid” and “Class Act” were pulled from Katy ISD libraries and his scheduled speaking engagement was initially canceled in the 2021-22 school year after about 400 parents alleged that the books promoted critical race theory. He’d never heard the term before, and he was nonplussed at the notion that his critically acclaimed young adult graphic novels could be deemed controversial.ĭespite having once been banned by the Katy school district, Craft made a grand gesture of no hard feelings when he made a special appearance at Katy bookstore Brown Sugar Cafe and Books on Friday. When award-winning children’s author Jerry Craft learned that his books had been branded “critical race theory” by some Katy ISD parents last year, the first thing he did was Google “critical race theory.” Gary Fountain/Contributor Show More Show Less Gary Fountain/Contributor Show More Show Less 9 of9 Jerry Craft, the author of a book once pulled from Katy ISD libraries over concerns about "critical race theory," during an in-store conversation at Brown Sugar Cafe and Books in Katy on July 1, 2022.
Gary Fountain/Contributor Show More Show Less 8 of9 Jerry Craft, the author of a book once pulled from Katy ISD libraries over concerns about "critical race theory," at Brown Sugar Cafe and Books in Katy on July 1, 2022.
Gary Fountain/Contributor Show More Show Less 7 of9 Jerry Craft, center, the author of a book once pulled from Katy ISD libraries over concerns about "critical race theory,"signs book for Isla Cardnell at Brown Sugar Cafe and Books in Katy on July 1, 2022. Gary Fountain/Contributor Show More Show Less 6 of9 Jerry Craft, the author of a book once pulled from Katy ISD libraries over concerns about "critical race theory," and Tonya Ellis during an in-store conversation at Brown Sugar Cafe and Books in Katy on July 1, 2022. Gary Fountain/Contributor Show More Show Less 5 of9 Jerry Craft, left, the author of a book once pulled from Katy ISD libraries over concerns about "critical race theory,"signing books for Sydney Fellows and Frank Fellows at Brown Sugar Cafe and Books in Katy on July 1, 2022. He is talking with people attending the in-house conversation and showing them a photograph on his cell of the cover of his next book. Gary Fountain/Contributor Show More Show Less 4 of9 Jerry Craft, the author of a book once pulled from Katy ISD libraries over concerns about "critical race theory," at Brown Sugar Cafe and Books in Katy on July 1, 2022. Gary Fountain/Contributor Show More Show Less 3 of9 Jerry Craft, the author of a book once pulled from Katy ISD libraries over concerns about "critical race theory," and Tonya Ellis during an in-store conversation at Brown Sugar Cafe and Books in Katy on July 1, 2022. Gary Fountain/Contributor Show More Show Less 2 of9 Jerry Craft, left, the author of a book once pulled from Katy ISD libraries over concerns about "critical race theory,"signing books at Brown Sugar Cafe and Books in Katy on July 1, 2022. He is signing for Sarah Cardnell and her daughter, Lucy. 1 of9 Jerry Craft, right, the author of a book once pulled from Katy ISD libraries over concerns about "critical race theory,"signing books at Brown Sugar Cafe and Books in Katy on July 1, 2022.
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