Minneapolis school board members are demanding an apology and a $1.2 million refund from a Utah-based publisher of educational books after a community backlash against what some called racial and cultural stereotypes in the material.
The books from Reading Horizons include a story about a black girl called “Lazy Lucy” and a stereotyped illustration of an American Indian girl in a book called “Nieko the Hunting Girl.” Administrators say they didn’t fully vet the material before buying the books.
A Reading Horizons representative said the company is overhauling its teaching material to be more culturally sensitive.
