A landmark at the university that my daughter attended is an odd-shaped building.
It is the main library at the university: Geisel Library.
Geisel as in Dr. Seuss.
Dr. Seuss is in the news now because his estate has withdrawn a few books of his because of racist depiction.
As an immigrant, I didn't grow up with Dr. Seuss books. I was unfamiliar with all things Seuss, and had to quickly catch up. Like even the hat that a student was wearing when I was in grad school. I had to ask what the deal was with that hat. Turned out, you know, it was a Seuss hat!
As always is the case, it turns out that academics have looked into the messages in Dr. Seuss books. One of them wrote in 2017 a book: Was the Cat in the Hat Black? In that book, the author Philip Nel "argues that the lanky and mischievous feline was inspired by blackface minstrelsy."
Interestingly, The Cat in the Hat is not one of the titles that is being discontinued. Why so? Not overtly racist. Plus:
I would also say because it's the brand. Dr. Seuss isn't just a children's author. He is a brand. And for the Beginner Books series, which are the books designed for younger readers, written by him and many others, the logo for that is the Cat in the Hat. He's literally the corporate brand.
The hat that a student was wearing when I was in grad school is the Seuss brand. You can't kill the goose that lays golden eggs!
Whatever it is, kudos to the estate for reconsidering Seuss' works. In an interview with The Guardian, Philip Nel says:
Dr Seuss Enterprises has made a moral decision of choosing not to profit from work with racist caricature in it and they have taken responsibility for the art they are putting into the world and I would support that
Exactly. It is a moral decision. Good for them!
Perhaps you now have a thought that I had after the news broke. Did blacks know that some of Dr. Seuss' stuff was racist?
At The Atlantic, Michael Harriot writes about this very question. He writes about his mother who "went to enormous lengths to protect her family from negative stereotypes of Black people." That meant that she banned Dr. Seuss at home. Naturally, he and his sisters got into trouble when his mother found the copy of Green Eggs and Ham that Harriot thought he had hidden well from his mother!
Why did Harriot's mother adopt such a strict approach?
A few years ago, I asked my mother why she put so much effort into concocting this Caucasian-free cocoon. She informed me that our childhood was part of an experiment she had envisioned before we were even born. “A Black person’s humanity can never be fully realized in the presence of whiteness,” she explained. Not a single day has passed since in which I have not thought about that sentence.
That's powerful!
If you’re really worried about Dr. Seuss’ books being removed from shelves, we have just the book for you. #LSSC pic.twitter.com/OYizG8npDA
— A Late Show (@colbertlateshow) March 3, 2021
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