If you have followed my Facebook activities, you may have seen recently that I've been commenting EVERYWHERE about how we should stop celebrating Dr. Seuss. I've posted on every single idolizing event or post that has popped up in my feed in the past month, leading up to his birthday this past Saturday. I've emailed and private messaged local libraries, bookstores, our school district, and nonprofit organizations as well.
In case you aren't caught up with why Dr. Seuss is so problematic, I'll share an example email I sent out, which summarizes my concern:
In case you aren't caught up with why Dr. Seuss is so problematic, I'll share an example email I sent out, which summarizes my concern:
Dear [school/library],
I am disappointed to see the upcoming event for families celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday. While I know many generations have enjoyed his books, his explicit racism towards Asian Americans and use of offensive stereotypes of Black Americans immeasurably taint his legacy of humorous rhymes.
There has been a lot written on this subject and I hope that your staff will take the time to read about this and consider making a change to how the library treats Dr. Seuss.
- School Library Journal, "New Study Published on Racism and Dr. Seuss"
If you do choose to still highlight his work, I hope your staff will also do the work of engaging children in critical conversations about his past, his messages, and his imagery. There are excellent tips here.
I am also sending this message to other local schools and libraries celebrating Dr. Seuss. I hope together we can make a change towards more inclusive literary programming.
Thank you for your consideration,
Mai
I recognize that I have a bee in my bonnet over this; it's become a bit obsessive. This isn't usually my style of activism, but recently I've been trying to get more comfortable with making people uncomfortable, when their comfort comes white supremacy, patriarchy, and other forms of systemic power. I definitely have school to thank for that.
Still, I've been thinking about why this, and why now. There are a million social justice issues, many of which have more significance, that I'm not spamming the internet about. I think it's one of those things that once you see, you can't unsee. When I first read an article a few years back about Dr. Seuss' racism, I just stored it in my brain under "good to know". And then I started to notice how his birthday is celebrated everywhere, from elementary school classrooms to Target stores. At first I thought people just didn't know, but the more emails I've sent out, the more I've realized people don't WANT to know. They would rather not see.
The responses along the vein of "it's just for FUN" and "sorry you're offended, but we like it" are what drive me to keep pushing the issue. For one, it's clear to me most didn't open any of the articles I sent, or read the peer-reviewed journal article that was published recently. And it's also abundantly clear that they are completely unaware of the white privilege they're exhibiting by deciding that anti-Asian and anti-Black imagery are still "fun" for kids, and that his very public racist views are barely an asterisk to his legacy of clever rhymes.
I'm particularly agitated right now because Holly is at an age where she is noticing things about herself and other people. She points out when I have a new pimple, or if our shirts both have stripes. When we read books, she'll say if the characters look happy or sad, and ask questions about who they are in relation to one another. She's a sponge, observing and processing how the world works. At her age, reading should be a fun, safe way to learn. I want her to see limitless possibility, as all children should. Yet children of color see so few depictions of themselves in books. While media representation of people of color is increasing, it's not changing fast enough. This only works to perpetuate the idea that whiteness is standard, normal, and best-- white supremacy by definition. I think ALL parents should be concerned about that, not just those raising children of color.
Dr. Seuss' books take the exclusion to another level. The only "ethnic" characters he does include are depicted in ugly, derogatory ways. Given his personal history, there is no doubt he intended the drawings to be that way. A lot of people say that the books they enjoy aren't the ones with those racist images. That may be true, but these community celebrations are clearly honoring Dr. Seuss, the man and author. He is not a hero, and I am not down for that.
There are a lot of ways I want to make the world better for Holly. Most will take a long time, and I am dedicated to that path. But I guess I'm focused in on this because it could be an easy win. There isn't a huge system to dismantle or a big price tag to pay. The parties aren't throwing themselves. It would take nothing but a few equity-minded librarians or principals to say, "let's celebrate literacy in another way", to create a more inclusive learning environment for the children in their community. I will keep sending my emails because I believe those individuals are out there, and I have hope that some of them will have the humility to see things differently.
Still, I've been thinking about why this, and why now. There are a million social justice issues, many of which have more significance, that I'm not spamming the internet about. I think it's one of those things that once you see, you can't unsee. When I first read an article a few years back about Dr. Seuss' racism, I just stored it in my brain under "good to know". And then I started to notice how his birthday is celebrated everywhere, from elementary school classrooms to Target stores. At first I thought people just didn't know, but the more emails I've sent out, the more I've realized people don't WANT to know. They would rather not see.
The responses along the vein of "it's just for FUN" and "sorry you're offended, but we like it" are what drive me to keep pushing the issue. For one, it's clear to me most didn't open any of the articles I sent, or read the peer-reviewed journal article that was published recently. And it's also abundantly clear that they are completely unaware of the white privilege they're exhibiting by deciding that anti-Asian and anti-Black imagery are still "fun" for kids, and that his very public racist views are barely an asterisk to his legacy of clever rhymes.
I'm particularly agitated right now because Holly is at an age where she is noticing things about herself and other people. She points out when I have a new pimple, or if our shirts both have stripes. When we read books, she'll say if the characters look happy or sad, and ask questions about who they are in relation to one another. She's a sponge, observing and processing how the world works. At her age, reading should be a fun, safe way to learn. I want her to see limitless possibility, as all children should. Yet children of color see so few depictions of themselves in books. While media representation of people of color is increasing, it's not changing fast enough. This only works to perpetuate the idea that whiteness is standard, normal, and best-- white supremacy by definition. I think ALL parents should be concerned about that, not just those raising children of color.
Dr. Seuss' books take the exclusion to another level. The only "ethnic" characters he does include are depicted in ugly, derogatory ways. Given his personal history, there is no doubt he intended the drawings to be that way. A lot of people say that the books they enjoy aren't the ones with those racist images. That may be true, but these community celebrations are clearly honoring Dr. Seuss, the man and author. He is not a hero, and I am not down for that.
There are a lot of ways I want to make the world better for Holly. Most will take a long time, and I am dedicated to that path. But I guess I'm focused in on this because it could be an easy win. There isn't a huge system to dismantle or a big price tag to pay. The parties aren't throwing themselves. It would take nothing but a few equity-minded librarians or principals to say, "let's celebrate literacy in another way", to create a more inclusive learning environment for the children in their community. I will keep sending my emails because I believe those individuals are out there, and I have hope that some of them will have the humility to see things differently.
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