Today, on what would have been Theodor Seuss Geisel‘s 117th birthday, news from Dr. Seuss Enterprises came out. Due to racist imagery in six titles, they will cease publication and licensing of them.
The books include And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, If I Ran the Zoo, McElligot’s Pool, On Beyond Zebra!, Scrambled Eggs Super!, and The Cat’s Quizzer.
Most of these titles can be found read on YouTube if you still want access to them.
Was Dr. Seuss Racist?
Some of Dr. Seuss’s depictions of Asian and Middle Eastern characters are drawn with pretty terrible stereotypes. When he began to write for children in 1937, many representations of people of color in the media were unfortunately depicted through racial stereotypes. Some of these included yellow-toned Asian figures.
Throughout his career he adapted and changed his artwork so that it would transcend these portrayals by using characters and birds. The stories would evolve too and he taught us many lessons about how to treat one another and how to be a decent human being.
The most problematic titles and images will not be available for purchase or licensing.
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