As schools drop Dr. Seuss books, it has been revealed that 6 of the famous children's books will stop being published altogether because of "racist and insensitive imagery."
The move has sparked outrage online. Here's the full story...
The decision comes after President Biden "cancelled" Dr. Seuss due to "racial undertones."
And it's safe to say, the reaction has been huge.
Now, as all of us Americans will be aware, today is the national Read Across America Day - an annual day that celebrates all kinds of books, authors, and young readers.
Read Across America ... Celebrate the joy of reading today and every day!#KidsNeedBooks #ReadAcrossAmerica pic.twitter.com/kzUY0cBh43
— 𝔻𝕒𝕧𝕚𝕕 𝕎. 𝔼𝕙𝕣𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕥, 𝕄.𝔼𝕕. 🍀🌈🍀🌈🍀 (@ehrhart_david) March 2, 2021
It is also a day that celebrates the birthday of the infamous children's author, Dr. Seuss.
Theodor Seuss, who died in 1991, is known for his best-selling children's books...
Such as Horton Hears A Who! (1955), The Cat in the Hat (1957), How The Grinch Stole Christmas (1957), and Green Eggs and Ham (1960).
And it's safe to say that all of his work has cemented millions of American childhoods over the last 6 decades; he's pretty much been considered a national treasure!
Dr. Seuss and his work has always dominated this national reading day...
And it's become somewhat of a tradition for Dr. Seuss' wild and wacky stories to be celebrated and remembered on Read Across America Day, with numerous former presidents and first ladies promoting and paying tribute to his stories.
So quite predictably, it came as quite a shock to many to hear that President Biden has "canceled" Dr. Seuss this year.
In Biden's proclamation declaring Tuesday Read Across America Day, he made no mention of Seuss...
Even though Donald Trump and Barack Obama both mentioned the author in their own declarations in the last 2 decades.
It seems Biden has broken the tradition.
Although the White House hasn't commented specifically on why the president chose not to mention the author...
The apparent snub comes just days after Loudoun County Public School District in Virginia removed Dr. Seuss from its Read Across America Day celebration, claiming that the legendary author's books had "racial undertones."
The Loudon County School District said they are leaving Seuss out of their celebrations and instead are shifting the "emphasis" towards books that are more "inclusive and diverse and reflective of our student community."
"Research in recent years has revealed strong racial undertones in many books written/illustrated by Dr. Seuss," LCPS said in a statement to CNN.
Examples of racial undertones in the books include "anti-Japanese American political cartoons and cartoons depicting African Americans for sale captioned with offensive language," LCPS explained.
They continued:
"Given this research, and LCPS' focus on equity and culturally responsive instruction, LCPS provided this guidance to schools during the past couple of years to not connect Read Across America Day exclusively with Dr. Seuss' birthday."
Now, in a shocking move...
It has been announced that 6 Dr. Seuss books will stop being published and it's caused outrage online...
6 Dr. Seuss books will no longer be published due to "racist and insensitive imagery."
No one is "canceling" Dr. Seuss.
— Nick Jack Pappas (@Pappiness) March 2, 2021
Dr. Seuss Enterprises made the decision to stop publishing six books, like the one below. It's obviously racist.
Yes, Dr. Seuss evolved. Anyone can.
Show me someone upset about this and I'll show you someone unwilling to evolve. pic.twitter.com/u6Gh8Irm1P
The company that preserves and protects the author's legacy, Dr. Seuss Enterprises, made the announcement today.
The 6 books no longer being published are: And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, If I Ran the Zoo, McElligot's Pool, On Beyond Zebra!, Scrambled Eggs Super!, and The Cat's Quizzer.
Do you think it's the right choice?