Scholastic Abandons Initiative to Segregate Diverse Stories Amid Allegations of Catering to Discriminatory Views.
Scholastic, the renowned children’s book publisher, has decided to stop segregating titles addressing themes of race, gender, and sexuality at its book fairs, as reported by The New York Times. The company, responsible for organizing over 120,000 book fairs in elementary schools annually, had recently generated controversy by featuring 64 such books in a catalog titled “Share Every Story, Celebrate Every Voice.” This move was prompted by new state laws that imposed restrictions on the types of books accessible to children. The decision to include titles from the “Share Every Story” catalog in these fairs was left to individual schools. However, an outcry from parents, teachers, and authors influenced Scholastic’s decision-makers.
The books encompassed biographies of civil rights activist and congressman John Lewis, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, a novel depicting a Native American story, and a book portraying families with same-gender parents, as outlined in The Times. Critics of the publisher accused Scholastic of yielding to censorship pressures.
The publisher also extended a comparable letter of apology to its authors and illustrators for the mishap. Scholastic President Ellie Berger expressed, “Even if the decision was made with good intentions, we now realize that segregating diverse books in a selective manner was an error.” She went on to say, “We offer our heartfelt apologies to every author, illustrator, licensor, educator, librarian, parent, and reader who was negatively affected by our actions.”
