I recently received an email from a friend re the controversial Dr. Seuss books, wondering how I felt about removing/banning some of his books. She said: I think it’s the same as Book Burning! use the examples as a teaching moment from the times they came from. Most all his books were read to me and I don’t think they turned me in to a racist or white supremist!
Well, first of all, it's not actually banning. It’s the people who own the copyrights and the publishers who are choosing not to print the specific books. Dr. Seuss has a left a fine legacy of great, socially aware stuff--most especially The Lorax and I can imagine that he, or in this case, his estate, would rather not tarnish his memory with ethnic stereotypes, innocent though they seemed at the time.
But it’s a question I’m pondering as I read stuff to Josie. Some of my favorites from childhood are incredibly racist by today's standards. William Green Hill on the Old Plantation comes to mind. Yes, there can be teaching moments though how much a three-year old will absorb of that and still enjoy the story, I don’t know.
Huck Finn, Tom Sawyer, Seventeen, the list is endless. In all of these Black people are portrayed as charming but gullible and laughable, at best. Grow up reading these, as I did, and these attitudes help one accept things like segregation and the fact that my grandmother kept a separate set of dishes and eating utensils for her Black maid, and my grandfather insisted on starting the lawnmower for Fred, a Black teacher with a MA, who mowed lawns on Saturdays and donated his earnings to his church.
Like my friend, I don't consider myself a racist or a White Supremacist. But I'm embarrassed that I ever accepted things as they were in the South of the Fifties.
I think a good standard to apply is, If I were reading this
to a child of the ethnicity being portrayed/caricatured, would I feel
uncomfortable? If the answer is yes, probably time to retire this work—which
was written when WASP was the default mode for most readers.
Retire, not ban.
S
9 comments:
Super great reflection and I'll seat down and write down whatever I think when I think of all these books being "banned" you are right not banned but either not published anymore or whose words have been changed (e.g. The adventures of Tom Sawyer), just to put words on where I stand.
The trend of cancelling concerns me and I think goes too far at times, particularly on some college campuses. I guess, we have to take it one case at a time. I like your earlier point about using some incidents to discuss and educate (my words).
Thinking about reading it to a child of the ethnicity/race/religion, etc. portrayed is a good test, although I do know people for whom that would not work as they would see nothing wrong with the stereotype.
The question of colleges that Anvilcloud brings up is an interesting one. Colleges, in general, have an obligation to allow their students exposure to a wide array of thought and belief and should teach how to think critically about such. They also have an obligation to keep their students safe. If a controversial speaker may engender protests that may become violent, the college may decide that speaker cannot come to the campus. And then there is the question of whether or not the college wants to be seen as supporting or even giving the legitimacy of allowing someone to speak whose views the school finds unacceptable. Allowing an avowed white supremacist, for instance, room on a debate platform sends the message that their beliefs are reasonable enough to be debated and there are quite a few colleges and universities that would prefer not to send that message.
In general, the rule if we can do better, we should do better is a good one to follow.
That's always the question to ask: how would a person of the affected race receive this? Would I read this book to a child who isn't white? And as you say, can a very young child even absorb "teaching moments"? I don't think so. These days many, many wonderful children's books are available that avoid those racist and anti-"different" images and show kids a varied world of humans. Retiring 6 little books should be no cause for so much uproar. It was a good decision.
I admit that I loved my own copy of the children's book, "Little Black Sambo." I related to the child, not his race. I related to the events and the consequences, and also enjoyed eating pancakes, thinking of the butter and syrup from the story. My connections to the story were simple ones. I didn't have any black friends, and I'm pretty sure at 3-4 years old, didn't know I was living in a racist society, which kept me separate from the blacks who lived in another neighborhood and went to a different school, of course. It took another 10-15 years before I saw the Bloody Sunday event on my TV, and lived through the Civil Rights era. But I was sorry my grandchildren never saw that Black Sambo book at all...it was no longer in any libraries. I dare say a copy of it today is very valuable, perhaps on display in a museum. I'm not sure how I feel about this.
Amen to all that, Vicki....this world is far from perfect, but so much better for awareness of "isms" .
Seems so hard for people to turn loose of these hurtful images, wonder why that is so threatening. Luckily there are really wonderful alternatives these days - depicting multi-cultural groups of kids in the most matter of fact way. I do read to a child of color - and I'm grateful for these new books. And there are plenty of classics without racial stereotypes.
I really appreciate your thinking here. May I share what you've written? Happy to credit you of course.
Of course, Sally!
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