We’re so old we remember when Jesse Jackson appeared on “Saturday Night Live” in 1991 to read “Green Eggs and Ham” to honor the deceased Dr. Seuss. Dr. Seuss has had such an impact on literacy that his birthday became Read Across America Day, and teachers are celebrating. Well, a lot of teachers are celebrating, but those in Virginia’s Loudoun County Public Schools have decided to give Dr. Seuss a pass due to the problematic nature of his works.
One fish,
two fish,
red fish,
really stupid left-wing censoring totalitarian asinine angry blue fish. https://t.co/Zz8z32hPJs— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 27, 2021
The Left says Dr. Seuss is racist. They say Little House on the Prairie is racist. They say To Kill a Mockingbird is racist. All being banned by public schools. How long before the Left bans the Bible?
— toddstarnes (@toddstarnes) February 27, 2021
Yesterday it was Mr. Potato Head.
Today, it’s Dr. Seuss.
Book banning in our public schools has become all too common and terrifying!!
— Brigitte Gabriel (@ACTBrigitte) March 1, 2021
A few years ago, Barack Obama noted "Pretty much all the stuff you need to know is in Dr. Seuss." Now, the left wants to cancel Dr. Seuss for racism. https://t.co/FIyrJEoq4n But note the lady admits she read Dr. Seuss to her kids and had to be told how he was racist.
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) March 1, 2021
OK, the school district is speaking up in response to the controversy it’s caused and says it hasn’t “banned” any books; it’s just decided not to celebrate Dr. Seuss because “in recent years there has been research revealing radical undertones in the books written and the illustrations drawn by Dr. Seuss.” Fox News reports:
Learning for Justice, a liberal education advocacy group, was reportedly behind the pressure campaign against the celebrated children’s author. The organization pegs itself as a group that seeks “to uphold the mission” of the left-wing Southern Poverty Law Center, according to their website.
Learning for Justice cited a study by St. Catherine University that claimed Dr. Seuss’s books are covered with “orientalism, anti-Blackness and White supremacy” in a magazine article they released.
The group also claimed that the characters who were not White in the books were “subservient” to White characters.
So justice in learning now involves canceling “Hop on Pop” and getting rid of showing your work in math class. Remember back in 2017 when a school librarian rejected Dr. Seuss books being given by first lady Melania Trump because they were “racist propaganda”?
Here’s Loudoun County Public Schools’ side of the story:
Loudoun County refutes "rumor" that Dr. Seuss books were banned from public schools https://t.co/5h4ebbaCMK
— FOX 5 DC (@fox5dc) March 1, 2021
“Research in recent years has revealed strong racial undertones in many books written/illustrated by Dr. Seuss. Examples include anti-Japanese American political cartoons and cartoons depicting African Americans for sale captioned with offensive language,” the district wrote on Facebook. “We continue to encourage our young readers to read all types of books that are inclusive, diverse and reflective of our student community, not simply celebrate Dr. Seuss,” the post continues.
Related:
'Whoville is SO white!' Librarian who refused free books from Melania MOCKED on #RacistSeuss https://t.co/86f7xcyjCG
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) September 29, 2017
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