Dr. Seuss Books Are Being Pulled Due To A History Of Racist Illustrations
By: Emily-Ann
It looks like Dr. Seuss is following suit with Quaker Oats and has halted the circulation of six of their books. The books make references to African culture and Asian stereotypes.
The following books have been pulled out of circulation due to harmful imagery and illustrations in the books. This comes after the call for companies, organizations, and across the board to review how they do business and the people they hurt to make a profit. Dr. Seuss Enterprises has issued a statement that can be found on their website.
Dr. Seuss wore blackface, acted in his own minstrel shows, and drew racist cartoons. They make sure we read his books in school though. pic.twitter.com/u8PZZQouqZ
— 247 Live Culture (@247LC) February 16, 2021
“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 catalogue represents and supports all communities and families.”
This statement was issued on the birthday of Dr. Seuss and has made nationwide news and has got many people talking. It looks like this company’s values and concerns have shifted. Whether it is a genuine or a business move one thing is for sure, companies alike are changing the way do they business. I have heard websites like eBay, listing these books as $4,000 where they used to be $14.99 each. The exclusive copies of his work have increased sales and sale prices.
Why are people still purchasing these books? I am sure we’ve had these books read to us as small children. Why would you want to hang on to a past? Hopefully, our fight for progress will continue to inspire change. This is just a constant reminder that this society still has work to do. Our voices are stronger and louder together!
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