Dave Coffey, editorial page editor of The Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, is an additional finalist in the under 35,000 circulation category of the Editorials category of the Carmage Walls Commentary Prize competition.
The three editorials that he submitted for the contest spoke out against the Great Barrington Police Department's search of an eighth-grade classroom last year — over a book.
He said the incident, spurred by a citizen's complaint to police about "Gender Queer: A Memoir," roiled the school community. Coffey said: "Some residents expressed outrage that law enforcement so readily ‘investigated’ LGBTQ-related literature. The English teacher who kept the book on a shelf in her classroom took a leave of absence citing safety concerns, as the publicly released police report included her full, unredacted name — despite the fact there was no charge and indeed no crime — while allowing the complainant to remain anonymous. Local students walked out in protest. The governor and the ACLU weighed in. The police chief eventually apologized."
Coffey said, "Amid the passionate debate that ensued, our editorials called out police overreach and the pernicious forces of censorship, taking a principled stand on a local issue that fits into the national context of book-banning efforts' alarming ascendancy. Our editorials underscored the urgency of preserving the freedom to read, defending the expression of the marginalized, and resisting the corrosive effects of culture-warring and crackdowns on vital public institutions. They also contributed to a community conversation that provoked real change at the local level. At its recent annual town meeting, Great Barrington passed a citizens' petition clarifying local rules separating police and education to “ensure that, whatever their intentions may be, nobody can misuse town resources to effectively intimidate or silence our educators and librarians."
Coffey's entry included these three editorials:
Among the comments made by contest judges:
