Dr. Seuss Racist Books Controversy

Content Warning: The following entry contains racist images and language.

Overview

Dr. Seuss Racist Books Controversy refers to the public reaction to the Seuss Enterprise, the company overseeing the children's book author Dr. Seuss' estate, announcing that they were ceasing publication of six Seuss books due to offensive imagery. 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.

Background

On March 2nd, 2021, Seuss Enterprises announced that they were ceasing the publication of six Dr. Seuss books.^[1] They said:

Today, on Dr. Seuss’s Birthday, Dr. Seuss Enterprises celebrates reading and also our mission of supporting all children and families with messages of hope, inspiration, inclusion, and friendship.

We are committed to action. To that end, Dr. Seuss Enterprises, working with a panel of experts, including educators, reviewed our catalog of titles and made the decision last year to cease publication and licensing of the following titles: 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. These books portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong.

Ceasing sales of these books is only part of our commitment and our broader plan to ensure Dr. Seuss Enterprises’s catalog represents and supports all communities and families.

These offensive images include:

• A character in And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street is referred to with the slur "chinaman" and who has lines for eyes, a conical hat and is shown eating rice from a bowl with chopsticks (shown below, left).
• Characters in If I Ran the Zoo from "the African island of Yerka" are illustrated to resemble monkeys (shown below, center).
• Asian characters in If I Ran the Zoo resemble stereotypical depictions similar to those in And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street (shown below, right).^[2]

Developments

Online Reaction

Following the announcement, many online voiced their disapproval of the company's decision to cease publication of their books. Twitter ^[3] user @VivekGRamaswamy tweeted, "Netflix was widely praised for Cuties, a French film that sexualized kids. But now, Dr. Seuss books are too offensive to exist." The tweet received more than 5,600 likes and 1,600 retweets in less than 24 hours (shown below, left).

Others disagreed with this commentary, defending the criticism of Seuss' work. Twitter^[4] user @dangelno tweeted, "Love how everyone in the #cancelcancelculture tag thinks we're 'canceling' dr. seuss because we're offended by nursery rhymes, when in reality all that happened is Dr. Seuss Enterprises made the decision (unprompted by Twitter) to stop publishing six of his books because of this." The tweet received more than 12,000 likes and 1,700 retweets in less than 24 hours (shown below, right).

On March 2nd, the Twitter account @TheRecount tweeted that Republican Congressman Kevin McCarthy mentioned the controversy on the House of Representatives debate of voting rights. He said, "First, they outlaw Dr. Seuss and now they want to tell us what to say." The tweet received more than 454,000 views, 560 retweets and 390 likes (shown below).

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) debating the voting rights bill:

“First, they outlaw Dr. Seuss and now they want to tell us what to say.” pic.twitter.com/825wEN6uKQ

— The Recount (@therecount) March 2, 2021

On March 2nd, Bari Weiss, an American opinion writer known for her work on censorship issues and so-called cancel culture published the contents of And to Think I Saw It On Mulberry Street on the website bannedseuss.com.^[7] She tweeted,^[8] "Enough with dividing. Try instead multiplying. Erasing books is insanity. Stand up for our common humanity." The tweet received more than 2,800 likes and 800 retweets in less than 24 hours (shown below).

Additionally, Redditor NewishGomorrah argued against the decision in the /r/unpopularopinion^[5], calling the controversy "asinine and historically ignorant." They continued, "What the sanctimonious cancelmob is ignorant of is that Seuss belonged to the WWII generation, where many Americans were anti-Japanese (not anti-Asian) and many if not most Japanese were anti-American. Virulently so. This was entirely expected, as the two countries were at war with each other. And in fact, both governments actively encouraged such attitudes -- the enemy must be dehumanized in war, as we all know."

Some refuted their argument. Redditor^[6] cephal0poid wrote:

First of all, this [article] shows^[2] that he isn't being cancelled. His estate is the one shelving the books.

Secondly, the article recognizes something that several people on both sides of the "woke" culture can't seem to process themselves . . . that people are capable of growth. If Dr. Seuss was alive today, I'm sure he'd be embarrassed of the caricatures and would want to revise them.

OP, stop over-reacting.

These books aren't beloved. Dr. Seuss isn't getting cancelled; his estate is calling the shots, and they probably know more about him than any of the "woke" or "anti-woke" crowd on social media.

Joe Biden Read Across America Controversy

On March 2nd, 2021, United States President Joe Biden gave an address for "Read Across America Day," a child literacy awareness holiday, which was originally synonymous with Dr. Seuss. President Biden's predecessors mentioned the author in their addresses, but Biden did not. He said:

The key to developing young learners into engaged, active, and innovative thinkers is instilling in them a love of reading at an early age. Reading is the gateway to countless skills and possibilities--it sets children on the path to a lifetime of discovery.

"On this Read Across America Day, we celebrate the parents, educators, librarians, and other champions of reading who help launch our Nation's children on that critical path.

Many believed that the absence of Seuss' name was in response to the publishing controversy. Republican California Governor candidate Errol Webber tweeted,^[13] "Joe Biden has just removed Dr. Seuss from “Read Across America” because he thinks the books are racists. Joe, just because you can’t read them doesn’t mean they’re racist!" The tweet received more than 3,400 likes and 800 retweets in less than 24 hours (shown below).

Of the controversy, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that the speech was "written by the Department of Education" and that any questions could be directed toward them. "Read Across America Day has not existed forever," Psaki said, "It has only been around for a short period of time. It elevates and celebrates a love of reading among our nation's youngest readers and the day is also a chance to celebrate diverse authors whose work and lived experience reflect the diversity of our country."^[14]

Media Coverage

Several media outlets covered the controversy, including New York Times,^[2] NBC,^[9] NPR,^[10] USA Today,^[11] Washington Post^[12] and more.

Search Interest

Not available.

External References