MEDIA MATTERS
Bilingual, pro-American book 'unfit' for L.A. schools
'Joey Gonzalez' about 3rd-grader who rebels against affirmative action

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted: June 11, 2008
11:22 pm Eastern

By Alyssa Farah
© 2008 WorldNetDaily

A new bilingual children's book is being deemed "unfit" for the Los Angeles schools because of its position opposing affirmative action.

"Joey Gonzalez, Great American" is a new release from WND Books by Tony Robles, who offered to donate copies to the Los Angeles Unified School District.

The book revolves around the main character Joey, a Hispanic 3rd grader committed to one goal – to be a "great American." His dream is derailed by his teacher, who tells him he is different because he is a minority and will need extra help to succeed. But the teacher tells him not to worry, because that's exactly what affirmative action is for. With the advice of his mom, Joey confronts his teacher and stands up for what he believes truly makes a great American – and it doesn't include the assistance of affirmative action.

Bookends, a non-profit organization that provides used children's books to LAUSD inner-city schools, rejected the donation of Tony Robles' books.

"I suspect that Bookends, and by extension the LAUSD, simply doesn't like the book's message about the destructive nature of affirmative action," the author said.

"'Joey Gonzalez' is a sweet little children's story with lovable characters that kids can identify with," Robles told WND. "It’s a story about ethnic pride, self reliance and courage, with a positive and affirmative message. But it is also a political commentary about one of the most controversial issues of our time: affirmative action."

"Minority kids have learned that there's no reason to try and succeed in school since the specter of affirmative action inevitably taints their efforts," Robles, who grew up on the streets of Brooklyn, said. "It's truly sad that an organization like Bookends, which works closely with the L.A. public schools and is supposed to help kids, is doing just the opposite."

The book's protagonist has a group of friends who also are minorities. At one point, Joey gets in a heated fight with his peer who says that it's OK to "pull the race card."

Robles wrote the book in hopes of explaining to children that they can achieve their dreams with hard work and perseverance not with special preference programs and government assistance.

"It's a story intended to provoke serious thought and hopefully encourage the notion of self-help, a conservative value and one that is quintessentially American," Robles added.

http://worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=P ... geId=66744