The Kanawha County Textbook Controversy in 1974 began when books meant to expand cultural knowledge of West Virginia students were selected and added to schools. However, many parents and community members were upset by title selections and began to protest adding the books to the district's collection. The Controversy or Kanawha County Textbook War as it is also known, remains the largest protests that began when new multicultural textbooks were introduced in schools. During the protests schools closed, violence escalated, and eventually ended in compromise.
Kanawha textbook controversy
Archives
Ku Klux Klan brochures, 1975. 1 folder. Sc2016-046
Scrapbooks and other materials, 1974-1982. 1 folder and 5 volumes. Sc2002-053
Kanawha Textbook Controversy, 1974. 2 items. Sc93-3
Location: Ph2016-046
Collection: Kanawha Textbook Controversy. B&W prints including Ku Klux Klan protest, 1975 September 6. 17 items.
Donor: Mike Bell
Location: Ph2009-145
Collection: Kanawha Textbook Controversy. Copy negatives of Alice Moore and family, board, 1969-1978. 8 items.
Donor: Alice Moore
Vertical Clipping Files Folder
Textbook Controversy
41 newspaper articles from West Virginia newspapers 1974-2011 from the West Virginia Memory Project
Audio on Kanawha County's Textbook Controversy, 1974: Listen on YouTube
Kanawha County Public Schools, Textbook Controversy Records A&M 3523
Records regarding controversy over textbook selection in Kanawha County schools. Includes correspondence, legal documents, and newsletters. Also includes copies of textbooks in question. The textbooks in this collection cover the subjects of literature, communications and speech, vocabulary and grammar, myths and fables, poetry, nonfiction, writing skills, and biography. There are also books regarding Federal and West Virginia school laws.
Kanawha County Book Protest, Miscellaneous Papers A&M 2624
Articles, broadsides, and other materials concerning selection of textbooks for the public schools of Kanawha County, West Virginia. The controversy involved confrontation between Christian fundamentalists and liberals over educational policy.
An American Conflict: Representing the 1974 Kanawha County Textbook Controversy by Carol Mason. Appalachian Journal, 32(3), 352–378.