President Biden appears to have read Dr. Seuss removed “Read Across America Day” amid criticism of the alleged “racial undertones” in the whimsical children’s stories.
Founded by the National Educational Association in 1998 to promote children’s reading, Read Across America Day is even celebrated on the author’s birthday on March 2.
In his presidential proclamation, Biden noted that “for many Americans, the road to literacy begins with storytelling in their classroom,” USA Today reported.
But unlike his two predecessors, former Presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama, Biden did not name Dr. Seuss.
The move is because Dr. Seuss’s work has sparked controversy after a study highlighting a lack of diversity among the author’s characters.
“Of the 2,240 (identified) human characters, there are forty-five color characters representing 2% of the total number of human characters,” said a 2019 study from the Conscious Kid’s Library and the University of California that identified 50 of Dr. Seuss’ books.
Last week, a Virginia school district ordered its teachers to link “Read Across America Day to Dr. Seuss,” because of recent research that “revealed strong racial undertones” in many of the author’s books.