Obama bio read by fourth-graders suggests whites are racist, details president's past drug use

A biography of President Obama being studied by at least one fourth-grade class has received criticism for glossing over negative aspects of the president, painting white voters as likely racists and highlighting the commander-in-chief’s early identity struggles by focusing on his teenage drug use.

The book, “Barack Obama,” was published by Lerner Publishing in 2010 as part of their series “History Maker Bios.” All presidents going back to Richard Nixon -- except George W. Bush -- were the subjects of similar biographies published by Lerner, which did not respond to questions from FoxNews.com.

Critics also say the new Obama book is biased, pointing to a passage that reads, “but some people said Americans weren’t ready for that much change. Sure Barack was a nice fellow, they said. But white voters would never vote for a black president.”

"As he got older, he started smoking and drinking. Was that what it meant to be black?"
- "Barack Obama," a biography read by fourth-graders

Kyle Olson, founder of the conservative Education Action Group Foundation and EAGnews.org, said that is a problem.

“I have no problem with kids learning about Barack Obama ... he’s the President of the United States," said Olson. "However, the book teaches fourth graders that white voters didn’t want to vote for black men.”

Asked whether the sentence could also be interpreted as simply noting that some people said that white voters would be racist, he agreed but said such nuance could easily be lost on fourth-graders.

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