President Biden avoided any mentions of children’s author Dr. Seuss in his presidential proclamation of Read Across America Day.
Unlike Presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama, Biden omitted mention of the author, whose books have faced accusations of containing “racial undertones,” instead only noting that “for many Americans, the path to literacy begins with story time in their school classroom.”
The omission comes after a Virginia school district announced its refusal to celebrate Theodor Seuss “Ted” Geisel on Read Across America Day, which falls on the author’s birthday, because of a study that showed the books are filled with “orientalism, anti-Blackness and White supremacy.”
“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,” the Loudoun County Public School district said in a statement. “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.”
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Read Across America Day was first introduced in 1998 as a way to promote youth reading, being celebrated every year on March 2.
The Dr. Seuss series of children’s books have sold over 600 million copies worldwide but faces waning popularity due to accusations of racism.
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“Realizing that many schools continue to celebrate ‘Read Across America Day’ in partial recognition of Dr. Seuss’ birthday, it is important for us to be cognizant of research that may challenge our practice in this regard,” the school district’s statement continued. “As we become more culturally responsive and racially conscious, all building leaders should know that in recent years there has been research revealing radical undertones in the books written and the illustrations drawn by Dr. Seuss.”
