Lorena Benson, 15, a sophomore at Athens Drive High School in Raleigh, delivered a speech to the Wake County school board this week that quickly went viral.

The teenager’s speech was posted on X and garnering more than 250,000 views.

The teen claimed her Honors English class recently read a story detailing sexual encounters between two cousins that made her extremely ‘uncomfortable.’

While Benson didn’t name the specific book, the disturbing content she described appears to match the short story ‘Tomorrow Is Too Far’ by acclaimed Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

The explicit narrative includes vivid text such as: ‘It was not the summer you fell in love with your cousin Dozie because that happened a few summers before, when you both wiggled into the tiny space behind Grandmama’s garage and he tried to fit what you both called his banana into what you both called your tomato but neither of you was sure which was the right hole.’

The passage goes on to recount how the characters ‘dug through your thick hair to find the tiny black insects and squash them against your fingernails and laugh at the tart sound of their blood-filled bellies bursting.’

‘Even after reading it again, it makes me feel very uncomfortable,’ Benson said. ‘This graphic, incestual sexual language should not be taught in any class, much less an Honors English class.’

Benson said the book she and her classmates read had ‘graphic, incestual sexual content, leading her to leave the school entirely,’ the News Observer reported.

‘I am deeply bothered and deeply disappointed,’ Benson told the school board on Tuesday.

‘I have decided to leave Athens Drive High School because I should not have to deal with pornographic, incestual sexual content taught to me in my classes.’

Benson, who moved to North Carolina from the Dominican Republic just three months ago, said she had been happy at Athens Drive until last Friday’s English class.

She alleges that students were asked to independently read a story and discuss it with classmates.

‘There was a part in the story that made me feel very uncomfortable and I looked around and saw the same expression on other students’ faces,’ said Benson.

The teen’s claims have sparked outrage among conservative activists.

Local pastor John K. Amanchukwu Sr. shared the video on X, claiming the 15-year-old was ‘forced to read a pornographic book in class.’

The Wake County School District has not yet responded to a request for comment.

Written by Noa Halff for The Daily Mail ~ September 24, 2024