ACCOMACK, Va. – The Accomack County school board voted to return two American literary classics to school shelves and classrooms after initially banning the books because of a complaint about language.

Accomack County Public Schools officials removed the classic American novels “The Adventures of Huckleberry Fin” and “To Kill a Mockingbird” from classrooms and libraries late last month after a complaint about racial slurs in the books.

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Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Fin” – used in schools as a shining example of American literature since it was published in the United States in 1885 – contains 219 racial slurs. “To Kill a Mockingbird,” by Harper Lee, has also been widely used in schools since 1960, and it contains 48 bad words, Delmarva Now reports.

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The suspension was made in November following a formal complaint filed by a parent against the use of racial slurs and in accordance with the county policy entitled “KLB- Public Complaints About Learning Resources” which states that the books be removed from circulation while a committee of school leadership, parents and students is formed to review the materials and make a recommendation to the county superintendent, Chris Holland.

Marie Rothstein-Williams, a white mother of a biracial student in the district, addressed the school board on Nov. 15 to voice her concerns.

“I keep hearing ‘This is a classic, this is a classic,’” she said. “I understand this is a literature classic, but at some point I feel the children will not or do not truly get the classic part, the literature part – which I’m not disputing this is great literature – but there is so much racial slurs in there and offensive wording that you can’t get past that.”

The school board ultimately disagreed, WAVY reports.

“These novels are treasures of American literature and inspirational, timeless stories of conscience and bravery,” said Dr. Ronnie E. Holden, Chairman of the Accomack County School Board. “We agree that some of the language used is offensive and hurtful. Fortunately, Accomack County’s excellent teachers and media center specialists have a wonderful talent for conveying the bigger meanings and messages of literature, including these two seminal works.”

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The book committee recommended that the district incorporate more diverse reading materials, but and the school board made the final decision on the two banned books, according to a press release distributed at a Tuesday board meeting.

The release also stated the school board will form another committee to reexamine the district’s policy regarding complaints, which currently forces officials to remove the materials during a review.

“The superintendent simply followed the existing policy when the materials were removed” last month, Holden said.