Rochester Pride to host author whose book was removed from elementary school shelves

Author Emily Neilson will travel to Rochester next week to sign copies of “The Rainbow Parade,” an LGBTQ-themed children’s book that has ignited debate following its removal from an elementary school library.

The event, set for Feb. 24 at Peace United Church of Christ, is being hosted by Rochester Pride, a nonprofit that organizes the city’s annual Pride festival. Rochester Pride bought 250 copies of the book to give away at the event, which will include a reading and discussion of the book.

“We are thrilled to have Emily come to Rochester to share her experience writing and illustrating a book based on her own life,” said BJ Gangestad-Birk, vice chair of Rochester Pride. “Books like ‘The Rainbow Parade’ help normalize LGBTQ+ families, bodies and events, which is ultimately why we invited Emily to Rochester.”

Gangestad-Birk said Rochester Pride reached out to Neilson about a visit following a decision by Rochester Public Schools in December to pull the book from the shelves of the Franklin Elementary School media center.

Superintendent Kent Pekel said at the time that the determination was based on the book’s depictions of public nudity and bondage apparel. Pekel said while he strongly supports the inclusion of books that celebrate the lives and experiences of LGBTQ people, the imagery made it inappropriate for a media center where children could access the book without adult supervision.

Rochester Pride objected to the district’s decision, saying it “perpetuated the idea that being openly LGBTQIA+ and expressing yourself as such should still be considered widely shameful and only take place behind closed doors.”

Published in 2022, “The Rainbow Parade” tells the story of a child who attends an LGBTQ parade with her two moms. Two pages of the book show people in the parade who are nude or partially nude, while another depicts two men wearing harnesses and holding hands.

The debate within the district over the book comes amid heightened concerns over book bans in the United States. In 2023, the American Library Association (ALA) recorded 4,240 books that have been targeted for removal or restriction in libraries in schools, a 65% increase from the previous year. The majority of the most-targeted books focus on LGBTQ content, according to the ALA.

In May, Gov. Tim Walz signed into a law a prohibition on book bans or other material based “on its viewpoint or the message, ideas, or opinions it conveys.” However, the statute gives exceptions for schools and libraries to exclude books based on the “appropriateness of potentially sensitive topics for the library’s intended audience.”

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