During World War II, he supported the internment of Japanese Americans. Seuss, Geisel drew racist cartoons and ads portraying Black, Jewish, Indigenous, Asian, Mexican and Muslim people in stereotypical and demeaning ways. What Avalos found was unsettling: Especially early on in his career, before he wrote as Dr. But because “things are sometimes taken out of context,” she decided to do her own research. Letitia Avalos, who teaches kindergarten at Van Deene Avenue Elementary School in Torrance, came to that conclusion independently. And over the past several years, educators across the country have increasingly concluded that other books might better promote literacy and inclusiveness at the same time.

Read Across America has been issuing the same guidance since 2018. In fact, the Virginia county hadn’t banned his books but merely released guidance - back in 2019 - suggesting a pivot toward more diverse reading. Some conservative rushed to declare that “ cancel culture” had suddenly come for our green eggs and ham.

Seuss from his Read Across America message the author’s estate announced it would no longer publish six books deemed to contain offensive material and reports circulated that Loudon County, Va., had banned his books. President Joe Biden omitted any mention of Dr. County, educators have cut ties with the work of Geisel, opting instead to follow the NEA’s newer guidance and focus on “diversity and inclusion.”Įvents surrounding this year’s celebration may have felt like a sudden, unforeseen shift in the program. On many campuses, the tradition continues.

In 2010, nearly 300 children gathered at the Library of Congress to hear First Lady Michelle Obama read “The Cat in the Hat.” Typically, young readers join their teachers in weeklong festivities that include guest read-alouds and parties in which they dress up like the Lorax, Thing 1, Thing 2 and other beloved characters. It’s no coincidence that the annual event, launched by the National Education Association in 1998, kicks off on March 2, the birthday of Theodor Geisel, aka Dr. For nearly two decades, Read Across America, the nation’s largest celebration of literacy, was built around the work of one writer.

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