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President Biden apparently removed references to Dr. Seuss from “Read Across America Day” amid close scrutiny of alleged “racial undertones” in children’s fantasy tales.
“Read Across America Day,” founded by the National Educational Association in 1998 to promote children’s reading, is even celebrated on March 2 of the author’s birthday.
In his presidential proclamation, Biden noted that “for many Americans, the path to literacy begins with story time in their classroom,” USA Today reported.
But unlike his two predecessors, former Presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama, Biden didn’t mention Dr. Seuss.
The move comes as Dr Seuss’ work has sparked controversy following a study highlighting a lack of diversity among the author’s characters.
“Of the 2,240 human characters (identified), there are forty-five colored characters representing 2% of the total number of human characters,” according to a 2019 study from the Conscious Kid’s Library and the University of California that examined 50 of Dr Seuss’ books.
Last week, a Virginia school district ordered its teachers to avoid “linking Read Across America Day with Dr. Seuss,” due to recent research that “revealed strong racial undertones” in many of the books. ‘author.
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