Parents and members of the educational system in Minneapolis, Minnesota, are extremely upset by some books which were recently delivered to the school system from publisher Reading Horizons.
The books in question, which are intended for children, feature characters such as Lazy Lucy, an African girl, and Nieko the Hunting Girl, who is Native American and lives in a cave. The books also refer to Christopher Columbus’ “discovery” of America, which is historically inaccurate.
And as if that isn’t bad enough, in a book entitled Kenya, the residents of the African nation are said to be:
“Able to run very fast.”
Members of the Minneapolis public school board are demanding an apology and a full refund from Reading Horizons. And a Tuesday meeting of the school board brought out strong emotions.
School board member Carla Bates remarked:
“Reading Horizons needs to step up to the table. I want them to bring me a check, bring you a check, bring the taxpayers of Minneapolis a check.”
On the other hand, board member Don Samuels argued that the publisher should be “forgiven,” because the families of the African-American churchgoers murdered by accused killer and white supremacist Dylan Roof forgave him.
To which I can only remark: WTF?!
The district paid the publisher $1.2 million for the books and a new children’s reading curriculum. But the books have never been used due to a backlash from the community.
It should be noted that Reading Horizons is a publishing company with clearly expressed Christian beliefs. The publisher’s website proudly mentions the Christian beliefs of its employees, and adds:
“We seek to do His will and to achieve balance in our lives.”
Reading Horizons is attempting to rectify the problem, according to company spokesperson Laura Axtell:
“It is our commitment to make sure this never happens again, and our processes have all changed.”
