Reading Books by Black Authors to Kids? Only if Parents Say OK

Florida, it seems, is at it again. Some parents in the Sunshine State are outraged that their children’s school is asking them to sign permission slips allowing a book by a Black author to be read to their kids. “I had to give permission for this or else my child would not participate???” parent Charles Walter, wrote on Feb. 13 on X, formerly known as Twitter. Attached to the post: a Miami-Dade County Public Schools permission slip. RELATED: Despite Pushback, Black Lives Matter at School Keeps Growing “I had to give permission for this or else my child would not participate???” he wrote.& The activity is described on the form as a “read aloud” from 1 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the library on Feb. 13. Next to “types of guest that may attend the activity or event,” it reads: “fireman/doctor/artist.” As one commenter responded to Walter’s post, “By an African-American’ is the strangest choice of phrasing that could possibly be used here. Why not use the author’s/reader’s name or the book’s title or give context on the book’s subject matter? ANYTHING normal.”& The Fundamental Rights of Parents The permission slip, sent home earlier this week by Coral Way K-8...