The reckoning with Dr. Seuss’ racist imagery has been years in the making
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Critics are condemning a decision to stop publishing six Dr. Seuss books, as experts say a reckoning with his racist works is long overdue.
The business that preserves Dr. Seuss’ legacy announced Tuesday that six of the celebrated author’s books for children will stop being published because of racist imagery. The move has both sparked backlash from conservatives who call it another example of “cancel culture” and reignited debate over promoting classic but problematic books.
The announcement came on Read Across America Day, an initiative to promote childhood reading, which falls on the birthday of Theodor Seuss Geisel, known as Dr. Seuss.
Dr. Seuss Enterprises admitted that the books — published in the 1930s to the late 1970s — “portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong.” The decision may have prompted a renewed focus on the classic works, but conversations about racism and prejudice in the author’s books are hardly new.
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