We need to clarify the misconception that we are putting all diverse titles into an optional “diversity” collection. It’s just that anything that mentions LGBTQ people or the presence of racism in America will be offered in an optional supplementary diversity collection.
Like, I believe that they're sorry we got mad. I think they knew what they were doing and would have been fine continuing to do it if they hadn't faced public outcry.
I don’t think they’d thought it through. They got some requests from *certain* states and school districts to limit their offerings. And because “the customer is always right” ethic is a cancer of the thinky bits, they went with it, and found it easier to make a product.
Cluelessness is pervasive.
That’s what I said.
The email the sales group gets from a school under an authoritarian government isn’t “we will suppress this content for EVIL”, it’s, “our school board/state limits us to certain material, can we talk about customizing what you bring?”
And the sales people never make the leap.
"Our commitment to BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ authors and stories remains foundational to our company"
Would that be the same foundational commitment that caused Scholastic to shove those authors and stories aside at the first sign of pushback? Yeah, I'm skeptical
That’s the whole point in having different words for different parts of the process of purgation.
It starts with saying “I’m sorry, I screwed up”, people get to respond with their expectation for restitution and restoration, when that’s done, people get to judge the effort!
lesson one in "on tyranny" is to not obey in advance. scholastic should say damn the torpedos and offer to defend anyone who the fascists and bookburners come after.
this is what happens when you let cowards, fanatics and idiots have guns.
They destroy knowledge so they stay on top of the mountain of fear they have created.
I don't blame anyone who feels skeptical or cynical about this letter - there's no shortage of reasons to feel that way. I'm personally counting it as a win, because without our collective action, Scholastic would still be out there discouraging schools from opting in to the segregated book box.
I agree it's good they backtracked, but what's the "pivot plan"? Makes me nervous they're just seeking a more surface-level palatable way to restrict certain books.
It may be an issue that they have already made contractual agreements that will need to be addressed so they don't get in legal trouble for that – it's October. Many of the fairs are probably already scheduled, or material already went out, so changing the rules back could have legal liability.
Eh, if they do stop all the self-censoring nonsense going forward, it's a win. It's just… early to tell if they are doing honest logistics or trying to find some other way to cave and get those sweet bigot dollars. 😒
Yeah. Their most recent statement doesn’t inspire confidence. Does this mean they’re simply integrating the books from this collection into the general selection of books, or they’re not including them at all now?!
I also 100% support anyone who chooses not to spend another penny on Scholastic products, or won't ever trust them again. Believe me, I'm acquainted with Scholastic's history of awful choices - this isn't their first shitty rodeo, and I'm sure it won't be their last. Continued vigilance is merited.
That seems like a pretty convincing apology to me, but I’m not jaded enough to know otherwise yet. The best part is that it sets a precedent of sorts, showing that the author/illustrator community will speak up to anyone else, no matter how big.
Oh, it was manageable, but you're welcome. And you're a majestic, fiery badass, Maggie, all the love and respect for everything you've been saying and doing!
My apologies for not considering the alt-text character limit! Here's the full text of the letter:
Dear Authors and Illustrators, I want to update you regarding the Book Fairs Share Every Story/Celebrate Every Voice case. First, I want to apologize on behalf of Scholastic. 1/?
As long as they’ve just raised the policy we have nothing to do about it no matter how dozens we comment but I’m really thanking you for your information 💙💙💕🥰
Even if the decision was made with good intention, we understand now that it was a mistake to segregate diverse books in an elective case. We sincerely apologize to every author, illustrator, licensor, educator, librarian, parent, and reader who was hurt by our action. 2/?
We recognize and acknowledge the pain caused, and that we have broken the trust of some of our publishing community, customers, friends, trusted partners, and stff, and we also recognize that we will now need to regain that trust. 3/?
This case will be discontinued starting with our next season in January. For the remaining fairs in the fall, Book Fairs is working on a pivot plan as we speak. We will find an alternate way to get a greater range of books into the hands of children. 4/?
We remain committed to the books in this collection and support their sale throughout our distribution channels.
Our commitment to BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ authors and stories remains foundational for our company. Scholastic believes in the basic freedoms of all individuals. 5/?
We oppose discrimination of any kind on the basis of age, race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, or national origin. 6/?
Thank you for sharing this, it’s good to know that corporations will still cave in both directions and not solely to RWNJs. It’s been really depressing watching company after company fold on their supposed solidarity.
It took basically 11 butthurt racists whining to trigger Scholastic's initial move. How many voices did it take to get them to change course from that shameful mess?
Definitely do. I'd also be interested in hearing from authors in the 'white fragility approved' group about how they feel about that. Stoked that Scholastic considers them fascist safe, or not so much?
Quite the opposite. I'd assume most would be horrified by Scholastic doing this. Finding out something you wrote, the worlds and characters you created are considered bigot friendly has to be a slap in the face from Scholastic.
And I'm very very glad to hear that you and others are speaking out against this. Push back from authors who don't want their work offered like this is so important to making sure Scholastic understands that no one who reads or writes wants this.
It was so weird because there were SOME books that you'd think would be "controversial" but were in the other cases? Like there was a Big Nate in the segregated case and another one in a different case? Why? What's the difference?
hyped by these news. NOW: if anyone cares to check the Executive Board of Scholastic, please do be aware they will find a way to *make segregation the new normal*.
Wow. Amazing they even thought this was a good idea to begin with. Or perhaps they knew they were doing something Bad and didn't expect the blowback? (Most likely explanation, sadly.) Glad this got sorted anyway...
"We realize now that it was a bad idea to give fascists the option of excluding minorities and minority voices."
This isn't something that should have even been considered... heartbreaking to see a company that I idolized as a kid make such an insane decision in the first place.
The fact people had to point out to them putting books about BIPoC and queer people in their own special category was a form a segregation is almost as sad/shocking as the fact they made that category an opt out for neo-Nazi parents that want to raise their children as sheltered as possible.
The problem is this behavior was only discovered because their profit-mongering bigotry and moral apathy went public. We still have no idea how deep the systemic racism and anti-diversity culture is at Scholastic in all the memos that we DIDN'T read. What else are they compromising for money?
Now schools and school districts are going to have to decide if they want the Scholastic Book Fair in their buildings and explain to parents/teachers if they choose not to.
Comments
We aren't doing it. We wouldn't do it. But the alternative is to not sell to bigots, which is unthinkable.
New letter:
We will stop doing it, slowly. Because we have always been against bigotry.
(The problem of living in a world created by people who don’t think there’s any work involved in getting forgiveness….)
Cluelessness is pervasive.
The email the sales group gets from a school under an authoritarian government isn’t “we will suppress this content for EVIL”, it’s, “our school board/state limits us to certain material, can we talk about customizing what you bring?”
And the sales people never make the leap.
Would that be the same foundational commitment that caused Scholastic to shove those authors and stories aside at the first sign of pushback? Yeah, I'm skeptical
It starts with saying “I’m sorry, I screwed up”, people get to respond with their expectation for restitution and restoration, when that’s done, people get to judge the effort!
They destroy knowledge so they stay on top of the mountain of fear they have created.
Dear Authors and Illustrators, I want to update you regarding the Book Fairs Share Every Story/Celebrate Every Voice case. First, I want to apologize on behalf of Scholastic. 1/?
Our commitment to BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ authors and stories remains foundational for our company. Scholastic believes in the basic freedoms of all individuals. 5/?
wtf happened to this company in the last 20 or so years...
((the investors here are nooot friendly))
This isn't something that should have even been considered... heartbreaking to see a company that I idolized as a kid make such an insane decision in the first place.
giving them
SideEye
With their history, it’s earned 🙄
Question? When pertaining to humanity, and literature… what about segregation is good?
It’s like grocery stores having an “ethnic section” as if to say “don’t worry, the rest is all good you’ll recognize.”
🙄