Posted on 06/26/2018 8:40:59 AM PDT by Red Badger
A division of the American Library Association voted unanimously Saturday to strip Laura Ingalls Wilder's name from a major children's literature award over concerns about how the author referred to Native Americans and blacks.
The Association for Library Service to Children says the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award will now be known as the Children's Literature Legacy Award.
Wilder, who wrote the Little House book series, was the first recipient of the award, which was established in 1954 and intended to honor books published in the U.S. that have had a big impact on children's literature.
The Little House series was based on Wilder's own life and told the story of the Ingalls family as it moved around the Great Plains in the 19th century. While many of the Little House books became widely read, critics said her work included many stereotypical and reductive depictions of Native Americans and people of color.
In 1935's Little House on the Prairie, for example, Wilder described one setting as a place where "there were no people. Only Indians lived there." That description was changed in later editions of the book. And multiple characters in the Little House series intone that "the only good Indian is a dead Indian."
The ALSC had been considering whether it should strip Wilder's name from the award since February and announced at the time that the author's legacy "may no longer be consistent with the intention of the award named for her."
"The decision was made in consideration of the fact that Wilder's legacy, as represented by her body of work, includes expressions of stereotypical attitudes inconsistent with ALSC's core values of inclusiveness, integrity and respect, and responsiveness," the ALSC said in a brief statement following the vote. Previously, the organization had noted the "anti-Native and anti-Black sentiments" in Wilder's writing.
However, some Wilder scholars say the author's work shouldn't be downplayed. Instead, they say, it should be scrutinized — and taken as an opportunity to inform children of the context surrounding it.
The Laura Ingalls Wilder Legacy and Research Association released a statement defending Wilder's work, saying that while her writing included "the perspectives of racism that were representative of her time and place," it also made "positive contributions to children's literature":
"We believe it is not beneficial to the body of literature to sweep away her name as though the perspectives in her books never existed. Those perspectives are teaching moments to show generations to come how the past was and how we, as a society, must move forward with a more inclusive and diverse perspective."
Debbie Reese, a scholar and the founder of American Indians In Children's Literature, tweeted that the vote to change the award's name was a "significant and historic moment" but still only a step. "There are many more, ahead of us. The backlash to the change is already evident."
The author Jacqueline Woodson, known for award-winning books including Brown Girl Dreaming and Another Brooklyn, will be the first honoree of the newly named Children's Literature Legacy Award.
The road to Hell is paved with Political Correctness.
Have the reruns been yanked off the tv yet?
The Left will destroy history and culture, and replace it with nothing, except their propaganda
Time to read Orwell again where books are banned and history changed....
Probably..................
Being an idiot and politically correct isn’t any way to go through life ... of course that IS REDUNDANT.
Fahrenheit 451...................
One day the Left Wing will have massive book burnings.........This is how Nazi Germany went, Democrats want the US to become Nazi America
At least they’re not rewriting them.
That happened to the Hardy Boys starting in 1959.
The originals are much better than the rewrites.
How 1984 and Fahrenheit 451 of them. I’m sure the ritual book burning will follow.
How 1984 and Fahrenheit 451 of them. I’m sure the ritual book burning will follow.
For those who have never read these books, pick them up! They are absolutely brilliant. They are good for kids and adults - she was a remarkable writer.
The Association is getting hell on Twitter.
These people are no different then the Taliban.
They want to destroy anything that does not fit their (religious) views. And Liberalism is a religion.
Read Ayn Rand’s “Anthem”......
It’s a book, and no matter how offensive it may be to certain groups of people, it should not lose an award or be removed from a reading list.
In fact, no book, no matter how socially or politically offensive it is to certain groups, should never be removed from a reading list.
And the same goes for To Kill a Mockingbird, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, The Great Gatsby, The Jungle, Catch-22, The Color Purple or In Cold Blood,
The left sees “Nazis” everywhere, but they are becoming more like Nazis themselves every day. They love censorship and intimidation. They march around wearing black and attack people. They are obsessed with race. Their “anti-Zionism” is thinly-disguised anti-Semitism. If they ever get a charismatic demagogue for a leader, watch out!
I’ve come to the conclusion that this gang of SJW and their idiot actions has all but secured librarians as the next to share the fate of buggy whip manufacturers.
One could make an argument that books are representative of white privilege and should be banned eliminating the need for book awards.
Burn the books! But they’re gonna have to burn a whole lot of Hollywood movies, too! And ban John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart and legions of old Hollywood indian fighters. Gone with the Wind! Gone, gone, gone.
Next they can go after our legendary WWII fighters. Lots of bad things said in books and movies about the Japanese and Germans. Burn the books, burn the moves, ban the stars, tear down the statues and memorials! Burn the flag, rewrite history.
Liberals are incredibly stupid people.
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