In 2021 Nicole Cole was elected to the Spotsylvania Virginia school board at the same time as two others who, together with existing members of the board, formed a majority that immediately tried to fire the superintendent and ban books. The board president even said he wanted to burn books that were in the school library. The new superintendent they hired banned 37 books, including Toni Morrisson’s The Bluest Eye.

Together with a core group of community members, Cole formed a PAC—Support Spotsylvania Public Schools—and got to work to recruit and support candidates who would challenge the majority. And in November of 2023 all four candidates supported by SSPS won their election.

They immediately un-banned the books and got them back on the shelves and are now working to undo the damage done by their extremist predecessors.

In this podcast episode, Cole talks with Karin Chenoweth about the need for people to pay attention to local races and not be afraid to be political.

“Politics is about the people. You absolutely have to be political. These people, you know, they are making decisions for you and they're imposing these decisions on you, your families and your kids,” she says. “They are absolutely putting politics in the school board.”

Cole, who was viciously attacked during the 2023 campaign season, says, “We have to be fearless with our purpose when we know our purpose is good.”

This episode will help others around the country understand what it takes to ensure that extremists who do not support public education are kept from positions of authority over the schools.

This podcast is brought to you by Democracy and Education, and you can find out more information about us at www.assistdemocracy.org.