Who is Anastasia Higginbotham? Outrage after NYC 'school book' slams religion, hails AOC
New York City parents have blasted its public schools for introducing a children's book that features a "queer" protagonist who hails Democrat congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her far-left "squad" while poking fun at Republican senator Mitch McConnell.
Concerned parents raised an alarm about the book -- “What You Don’t Know: A Story of Liberated Childhood,” written and illustrated by Brooklynite Anastasia Higginbotham -- being distributed to public school libraries. The book, which knocks religion, reportedly appears on a fifth-grade independent reading list labeled 'Universal Mosaic' as the DOE's new Mosaic curriculum comes into effect next year.
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Who is Anastasia Higginbotham?
Anastasia Higginbotham is a Brooklyn-based, White Raven award-winning author who wrote and illustrated 'Divorce Is the Worst', 'Death Is Stupid', 'Tell Me About Sex', 'Grandma', and 'Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness' as part of her 'Ordinary Terrible Things' series. Among her latest works are the aforementioned 'What You Don’t Know: A Story of Liberated Childhood' and 'You Ruined It'.
In 'What You Don't Know', the author writes about a Black child who talks about fitting in at school and church and a friend "who's queer like me." Named Demetrius, the boy is depicted inside a church where he says, "Churches can preach all they want about love — the only thing that I feel when I’m here is shame.” The boy subsequently meets Jesus, who is apparently a Democrat and tells him “everyone is invited to love and be loved.” Demetrius then points to an unnamed White man who resembles McConnell and says, “Even — ?” Jesus replies “Yes.”
In fact, Higginbotham confirmed in a reading of the book posted to YouTube that the unidentified White male is indeed McConnell and the scene is set in a Catholic church. “That’s Mitch McConnell. And the child wants to know if even Mitch McConnell is invited to love and be loved considering all the harm he is causing,” she said. The book then preaches that "we will rewrite the rules we live by and love the world into balance," alongside an illustration of Demetrius watching television with his parents, while the TV screen is shown to depict “U.S. Representatives Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley, Ilhan Omar, and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez.”
The book sparked quite the outrage among parents. One Staten Island mother told the New York Post that the book is anti-Catholic and that its mix of religion and politics "has no place in the classroom." She added, “It’s a horrible book." Another borough parent agreed and noted how the principal at their school, PS 3 in Pleasant Plains, refused to distribute it and that officials were scouring through other books to see if they were appropriate.
As mentioned, Higginbotham has written several children's books on similar themes. In 'Not My Idea', she writes about a child who “connects to the opportunity and their responsibility to dismantle white supremacy.”
SCOOP: At least 25 public school districts in 12 states are now teaching "Not My Idea," a book that claims "whiteness" is the devil, luring children with the promise of "stolen land [and] stolen riches."
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) July 8, 2021
Critical race theory is driving public education—and must be stopped. pic.twitter.com/FRzpxywwbj
Speaking of her latest book 'What You Don’t Know', the author told The Post that she "never expected people who cling to the oppressive, dying institutions of patriarchy and white supremacy to like that book.” According to Higginbotham, the book is about “boundless love and the divinity of everything” and the “Black Jesus I depict in the book is no Democrat.”
The DOE said it compiled a list of the controversial books under the Mosaic funding umbrella at the direction of former Mayor Bill de Blasio, who announced the novel curriculum in July 2021 in a bid to standardize instruction and “better reflect” the system’s diversity.