A North Carolina teenager has sparked controversy after claiming she was forced to read “incest pornography” in her English class.
Lorena Benson, 15, a sophomore at Athens Drive High School in Raleigh, gave a speech to the Wake County school board this week that quickly went viral.
The teenager’s speech was posted on X and garnered more than 250,000 views.
The teen claimed her advanced English class recently read a story detailing sexual encounters between two cousins that made her feel extremely “uncomfortable.”
The teen claimed her honors English class recently read a story detailing sexual encounters between two cousins that made her feel extremely “uncomfortable.”
She said the book she and her classmates read had “graphic and incestuous sexual content, which led her to drop out of school altogether.” News Observer reported.
“I am deeply concerned and deeply disappointed,” Benson told the school board Tuesday.
‘I decided to drop out of Athens Drive High School because I shouldn’t have to deal with the incestuous and pornographic sexual content that I’m taught in my classes.’
Benson, who moved to North Carolina from the Dominican Republic just three months ago, said she had been happy on Athens Drive until last Friday’s English class.
She alleges that students were asked to read a story independently and discuss it with their classmates.
“There was one part of the story that made me feel very uncomfortable and I looked around and saw the same expression on the faces of the other students,” Benson said.
Lorena Benson, 15, a sophomore at Athens Drive High School in Raleigh, gave a speech to the Wake County school board this week that quickly went viral.
“Even after reading it again, it makes me feel very uncomfortable,” Benson added. “This graphic, incestuous sexual language should not be taught in any classroom, much less an advanced English class.”
The book fits the description of the novel ‘Tomorrow is Too Far Away’ by Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
Conservative activists have used the video to criticize school curricula, including John K. Amanchukwu Sr., who shared the video on X.