Biden Erases Dr. Seuss from 'Read Across America Day' Amid Pressure from Left
President Joe Biden appears to have severed the link between children’s author Dr. Seuss and “Read Across America Day,” which falls on the author’s birthday.
“Read Across America Day” was synonymous with Theodor Seuss Geisel when it was first celebrated in 1998, falling annually on Geisel’s March 2 birthday, according to Newsweek.
“We are calling for every child in every school in every community to be in the company of a book on Read Across America Day in celebration of Dr. Seuss’ birthday,” Bob Chase, then-National Education Association president, said at the time.
“People of all ages love Dr. Seuss. He epitomizes a love of children and learning. Read Across America Day is truly one of the largest celebrations of literacy this country has. Dr. Seuss would be proud.”
However, the famed children’s author was seemingly snubbed and not mentioned by Biden during his proclamation of “Read Across America Day.”
Both former President Barack Obama and former President Donald Trump mentioned Geisel in their annual proclamations of the day, according to Fox News.
“The works of Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known to us as Dr. Seuss, have sparked a love for reading in generations of students,” Obama said in his 2015 proclamation.
“His whimsical wordplay and curious characters inspire children to dream big and remind readers of all ages that ‘a person’s a person no matter how small.'”
Trump reminded Americans to keep in mind the “still-vibrant words of Dr. Seuss: ‘You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.'”
[firefly_poll]
The progressive left has sought to cancel the beloved children’s author because of alleged racial undertones in his books.
On Tuesday, Dr. Seuss Enterprises announced the decision to cease publication and licensing of six Dr. Seuss books: “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.”
“These books portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong,” the organization said in a statement.
“Ceasing sales of these books is only part of our commitment and our broader plan to ensure Dr. Seuss Enterprises’s catalog represents and supports all communities and families.”
Loudoun County Public Schools, one of Virginia’s largest school districts,” has also discouraged a connection between “Read Across America Day” and Dr. Seuss’ birthday because “research in recent years has revealed strong racial undertones in many books written/illustrated by Dr. Seuss.”
The study the school district cites is one published in 2019 in the “Research on Diversity in Youth Literature” journal that found 43 out of the 45 characters of color in 50 Dr. Seuss books are examples of offensive portals of Asia and the two “African” characters have anti-black characteristics, according to CNN.
“In [‘The Cat’s Quizzer’], the Japanese character is referred to as ‘a Japanese,’ has a bright yellow face, and is standing on what appears to be Mt. Fuji,” the study’s authors wrote.
The researchers also argue that most of the human characters in Dr. Seuss’ books are white, so his books perpetuate white supremacy.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
