I just saw that FOX News is saying President Biden has taken Dr. Seuss out of 'Read Across America.'
I found this on Snopes on what this hullabaloo is about.
"March 2 is the birthday of children’s author Theodor Seuss Geisel, widely known as Dr. Seuss. In celebration of the “Green Eggs and Ham” author and his contributions to children’s literacy, the date has long been tied to “Read Across America Day,” a National Education Association (NEA) day dedicated to encouraging children to read.
That started to change in recent years when the NEA began pushing for the day to focus more on diverse children's book authors, and also with discussion of racist depictions of characters in some of Dr. Seuss' works.
In 2021, on what would be the author's 117th birthday, those circumstances-- along with false claims that a school district in Virginia banned Dr. Seuss books and a brewing conservative backlash over "cancel culture" -- came together in a digital Big Bang of internet outrage, with some claiming Dr. Seuss had been "canceled by the woke left."
My son has been against Dr. Seuss for quite a while since he learned about the propaganda that Theodor Seuss Geisel drew during WWII where so many Japanese Americans were imprisoned cruelly in Internment Camps just because they were of Japanese descent.
I have seen his problematic drawings in some of his books.
Our history as white people is not too good!We lived in Bellflower California in 1943 and Bellflower had the first supermarket we had ever seen. We traded there. One day we went to get our groceries and the market was closed. There was a notice on the door. A third generation Japanese American family owned the market. Their market had been confiscated by our government and the family had been sent to what was not called a concentration camp...but it was...in Kansas. Even after the war was over, they never were given back their market. Strange...we were at war with Italy and Germany too but none of them were incarcerated in camps.
ReplyDeleteI must admit I was blind to those hurtful stereotypes that Seuss pictured. It's the Seuss Foundation that has decided not to publish some of the books with those drawings. It's their right to do so and the right thing to do.
ReplyDeleteI understand that there are six books out of many that the foundation itself has said that it won't republish. I don't have much of an opinion about this, but I think many people see it as part of the whole cancelling phenomenon, which concerns many.
ReplyDeleteAs the previous comments say, the publisher will stop printing new copies of six books. None of them are banned. It's typical that the president not mentioning Seuss in connection with Read Across America is now being ballyhooed as Biden banning books.
ReplyDeleteI confess that I never picked up on the racial connotations of those illustrations and depictions. That's another example of white privilege. I wasn't a victim of such insensitivities. That many of us see it now is a mark of improvement.
Thank you for this post.
I read about this a few days ago, but couldn't remember the (skewed) stereotypes; we certainly grew up with all the Seuss books in my house. It's easy to see why they're wrong today, but can't they be taken in their historical context? I grew up collecting Superman & Batman comic books, in the late 1960s & early 1970s. They often contained reprint stories from the 1930s-1940s, and you'd see blacks represented as 'darkies', I was 9 or 10 years old and knew that was wrong, but it was 'the times'. Let's not begin burning books that don't fit in with our views today. Soon we'll find excuses to burn OTHER books and when will it stop?
ReplyDeleteJust because it was "the times" doesn't make it OK. These are children's books that are read during formative years. There are so many fabulous books that have been published since then that are good for all children and foster understanding and kindness. Why keep something that is hurtful for some children and might create more negative stereotypes in others? This is far from book burning where all ideas that weren't Nazi sanctioned were being stifled.
DeleteIt's not so much cancel culture, as creating awareness, better books, and doing better when we know better. I used these books a lot. I remember being concerned about the images, but not knowing what to think or do.
ReplyDeleteOne article said the "n" word is mentioned many times in Mark Twain's Huck Finn book. The images in Seuss books weren't good. But it reminds me of the book-burning movie "Fahrenheit 451." Another article said sales of the 6 no-longer-published Seuss books have soared. I think recognizing it is good. I think trying to erase history is exhausting. Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeletePlease read what I wrote on Doug's comment. I really can't agree that this is Fahrenheit 451. We're not trying to erase history. Let's try to create a kinder history of understanding and helping children grow to be accepting children of all cultures.
DeleteI applaud the foundation for recognizing that those particular books are out of touch. But let's not forget that the author was born in 1904, making him a young man during WWII. I have always been mystified with this country's response to punish Asians who chose to live in America but were then treated so unforgivably. It was a shameful reaction to be sure. But I think it is important to consider context when evaluating someone's perspective, and I think it is a shame that our media is unwilling to confront that, choosing instead to smear all kinds of people widely. The way they have handled this seems to me to blast Geisel pretty hard, and they are missing an opportunity to teach young people why someone like him might have fallen into those racist stereotypes. That would only help people who might be holding onto their own stereotypes recognize it.
ReplyDeleteTheodor Geisel's daughter responds that there was not a racist bone in his body. My mother read an old book, Little Black Sambo, about a little boy in India, to my children over and over. Now it is banned.
DeleteAnd yet, he produced those posters against Japanese Americans during WWII when thousands of loyal Japanese Americans were locked away in Internment camps while their possessions were stolen or lost. I do think Theodor Geisel did grow in time, away from his racist leanings, so why keep printing those books? Why not just print out the books that would foster better understanding and acceptance?
Deletei have problems with this whole thing. this is the way people think/thought. if i had small children, i would read these books to them and use them as teaching tools to point out the wrongs and explain to them why they are wrong. these books can still be teaching tools, just in a different way than before.
ReplyDeleteAmen!
DeleteI wish all teachers and parents would do what you did. Unfortunately, that's not always the case.
DeleteSince it has been 40+ years since I had read one of those books, I too was blind and can certainly understand why others are upset. I think the proper thing was probably done to not continue printing them. I hope we can all refrain from burning those books and instead use them as teaching tools about how beliefs and conceptions of other cultures can change over time.
ReplyDeleteI hate censorship! I hate book burning! I hate political correctness! All could be teachable moments rather than cutting off at the knees. It is all hurting my heart.
ReplyDeleteIt's only the 6 books that are being taken out of print. What's out there is not being banned. I like to think that the books could be teachable moments. Unfortunately I know some teachers who wouldn't think to use it that way or parents either. They are books for children read at their formative years. Why should we continue to print out more material that merely furthers stereotypes and racism? With violence increasing against Asians and African Americans right now, I think it's even more important to put out much better reading material instead of staying with the racism that is now being allowed to raise its ugly head.
DeleteTake the news reports on increasing Asian violence with a large grain of salt. That was based on New York City where in all of 2019 they had 1 Asian hate crime and by 2020 in increased by 1900% to 20 people out of nearly 100,000 Asians in the city. So even though there was a 1900% increase, the average Asian in New York City only has a 0.02% chance of being the victim of a hate crime in any given year.
DeleteThank you, Ed. I've been watching about this alarming trend and it was really making me nervous for my kids and grandkids. I'm grateful you've put it into perspective, but I'm still concerned.
DeleteBeing married to an Asian, I am too and hope that it isn't the start of a trend.
DeleteThank you for providing examples. As I read the articles about those books I meant to search out the specifics but never got back to the project.
ReplyDeletethanks for the samples, I never put it all together. Interesting!
ReplyDeleteThe Seuss Foundation has been talking about these 6 books for a year, well before Biden was president. So, I don't understand the connection there, but people will believe anything Fox News trumpets aka lies about. Unlike many, I've always found Dr. Seuss distasteful and successfully avoided reading any of his books to my children.
ReplyDeleteExactly.
ReplyDeleteThe PO says they have a delivery for me today. :)
The books are not banned but going out of print per decision of the Seuss Foundation in acknowledgement of changing times. So if you have copies of those six books, hang on to them because they will go up in value. I am quite sure climate change deniers are not fond of The Lorax and would ban that one if they could.
ReplyDeleteHaven't ever read one of his books but can see instead of banning them they could be used as teaching tools of the way things were but no longer are acceptable.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your conclusion. We have many rotten things going on now regarding racism . It's difficult to deal with todays racism . So we have to remember today. 50 or 60 years from now , how many books are going to have to be thrown out.
ReplyDeleteI can see why the publisher decided to stop publishing the six.
ReplyDeleteI am glad that most of Dr Seuss books will survive. My favorite is Horton Hears a Who because of the line, "I said what I meant and I meant what I said. An elephant's word is 100 per cent!"
ReplyDeleteAgree, discuss don't ban.
ReplyDeleteI read "Green Eggs and Ham" to my son often, since it was his favorite book. I don't think I ever saw anything odd in the ones I saw, but then again I was a white person with little contact with anyone outside my own circle. Times have changed, and I applaud what the publisher is doing.
ReplyDeleteI believe it's just those 6 books that will be going out of print because of their hurtful illustrations and narrative. Green Eggs and Ham should be fine. There are so many of the Dr. Seuss books that are wonderful. It's just these 6 that have the problematic pages.
DeleteThank you for this post. I tried to explain how hurtful those drawings are on another person's blog, but they just couldn't understand it.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for stopping by and leaving your kind comment Sheila. I think for many that don't live it, they can't understand it.
DeleteKay, I couldn't agree more. It's been too long happening.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this
ReplyDeleteI applaud Dr. Seuss. The bigger problems rests in Fox News and their proliferation of un-truths! Fox needs to go away!
ReplyDeleteDiscontinuing these titles makes sense. Adults can still find them, but children won't be exposed to these stereotypes long before they achieve the critical thinking skills necessary to see past them.
ReplyDeletePerfectly said! Thank you!
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