Many were surprised by the decision of the Seuss estate, which was announced on Tuesday to coincide with dr. Seuss’s birthday. In a statement, dr. Seuss Enterprises said it decided to discontinue the six titles last year after consulting an expert panel, including educators, to review the catalog.
Geisel, who died in 1991, is best known for whimsical picture books such as ‘Green Eggs and Ham’ and ‘The Cat in the Hat’, as well as working with ethical and moral imperatives to treat others with kindness and care for the planet, such as “Horton Hears a Who!” and “The Lorax.”
Scholars have long noted racism in his war cartoons, for which he later offered a half-hearted apology, saying it was the result of ‘quick judgments that every political cartoonist should make’. Others noted anti-Semitic and Islamophobic speech in the comics and advertisements he wrote before and during his career as a children’s book author.
The investigation into his picture books has recently started to gain more momentum. In his 2017 book entitled “Was the Cat in the Hat Black ?: The Hidden Racism of Children’s Literature, and the Need for Diverse Books,” Mr. Nel, a professor at Kansas State University, made the case that the beloved character has roots in black face. In 2019, an academic journal dedicated to the study of diversity in children’s literature publishes ‘The Cat Is Out of the Bag: Orientalism, Anti-Blackness, and White Supremacy’ in Drs. Seuss’s Children’s Books’, an article discussing racism and prejudice in Dr. Seuss’s books.
The authors, Katie Ishizuka and Ramón Stephens, argues that much of Dr. Seuss’ work shows racism or prejudice against black, Asian, Mexican, Native American, and Jewish people, as well as women and other groups. “The minimization, eradication, or recognition of Seuss’s racial transgressions throughout his publishing career denies the real historical impact they had on coloreds, and the way in which their culture, education, and children’s views of coloreds continue to influence.” wrote.