And such is the life of a happy slave.

[kpete]

It just gets more offensive from here... (Image of back cover credited to Teaching for Change)

from SCHOLASTIC:

A Birthday Cake for George Washington

Everyone is buzzing about the president's birthday! Especially George Washington's servants, who scurry around the kitchen preparing to make this the best celebration ever. Oh, how George Washington loves his cake! And, oh, how he depends on Hercules, his head chef, to make it for him. Hercules, a slave, takes great pride in baking the president's cake. But this year there is one problem — they are out of sugar.

And such is the life of a happy slave. That description is the premise for the zany adventures of Washington's chief slave, Hercules. The book strikes a joyful, child-like tone and is accompanied by many bright, colorful illustrations of Hercules smiling widely along with his happy children. Spoiler alert: Hercules finds what he needs and rushes back in time to bake the cake! Everyone then sings "Happy Birthday" to the delight of George and Martha. THE END

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/book/birthday-cake-george-washington#cart/cleanup



MORE:
http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/1/17/1470884/-Scholastic-Publishes-Children-s-Book-on-Washington-s-Happy-Slaves
http://atlantablackstar.com/2016/01/15/happy-enslaved-africans-infuriates-twitter-as-backlash-grows-over-new-childrens-book-parents-launch-petition-to-end-falsehoods/
http://mic.com/articles/132719/author-of-george-washington-children-s-book-defends-portrayal-of-happy-slaves#.MGp8SPqj8

[MrWendel]

1. Its either...

Slavery never happened or Slavery was not as bad as you think.

Can't make this shit up. lol

[KentuckyWoman]

2. WTF???

I can't even get past that... WTF?????

[LuvNewcastle]

3. Hercules is actually George's

half-brother and he services Martha while George is gone to war. Hercules's son is the only true Washington heir left when George dies, and he gradually acquires everything from his dissolute white relatives. That's the William Faulkner version, anyway.

[Bucky]

5. LOL

I'd read that

[Eugene]

4. George Washington slave book pulled after criticism

Source: BBC

George Washington slave book pulled after criticism

18 January 2016 Entertainment & Arts

A children's picture book about George Washington and his slaves has been pulled by publishers Scholastic.

A Birthday Cake for George Washington tells the story of Washington's slave Hercules, a cook, and his daughter.

It had been criticised for its images of smiling slaves, and described as being "highly problematic".

Scholastic said in a statement that without more historical context, the book "may give a false impression of the reality of the lives of slaves".

The book, telling the story of Hercules and Delia making a cake together, had been released on 5 January.

It was met with a barrage of one-star reviews on Amazon, with readers describing it as "disgustingly inaccurate", and one writing: "I can't believe people are celebrating a children's story that depicts happy, joyful slaves."

[font size=1]-snip-[/font]

Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-35342658

[Bucky]

6. This is hilarious

The real history of George Washington's relationship with the peculiar institution, is actually pretty complex & fascinating. It's too bad the book didn't tackle that complexity (which I think least 8 year olds would be able to deal with). Slavery should be handled with judgment & condemnation, but reducing the victims of American slavery as entirely and exclusively victims does a disservice to both their heroic survival under harsh conditions and the wide range of cultural contributions they made to the American tapestry.

That said, the tone of the book is laughably inappropriate.

[mulsh]

7. Hercules walked away one day and was manumented in 1797, so real life happy ending?

[link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hercules_(chef)|