We’re allowed to grow… & change our tone.
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by Matt McClard - posted to facebook 3/5/21
Is it really that hard to believe that we have progressed as a society since Disney's Peter Pan was made in 1953? Or that Dr. Suess might not have illustrated and written African and Asian people in a way that would make them proud of their culture and heritage in 1950?
These entertainment pieces were made less than 75 years from Reconstruction and 14 years before the Civil Rights Act of 1964! They were both created before the National Guard was called to make sure Black students could attend Central High School In Arkansas.
I don't think anyone is saying that Dr. Suess didn't contribute positive things to education, reading, and art. His estate simply decided they no longer should publish those books, which seems wholly in their right as a private company. Also, it's ok to recognize Peter Pan as a great piece of entertainment and at the same time call out the clearly racist and bigoted characters and behaviors. I don't think we should ignore our past nor our mistakes. We should own them, lament for others' suffering, and make changes and learn to be better. Dr. Suess, Disney, or anyone else, for that matter, are not gods. They were just some people who made some stuff to entertain us.
We should expand our experiences with books and movies made by people of color. There are great stories worth reading and watching. It's been a while since I read my kids to sleep every night, but I have to think there are some new classics out there that aren't 70+ years old.
I remember reading If I Ran the Zoo as a kid, and I bet I liked it. I was just a kid; I didn't know better. Some of the things in that book are mean and hurtful. They are mean and hurtful regardless of whether I knew it or not. And those mean and hurtful things are sinister and not easily unlearned. There was a song in Sunday school about being careful little eyes what you see. Dr. Maya Angelou said, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better do better.” Which sounds like something Dr. Suess would agree with. So, you know, I am ok with Dr. Suess's estate not printing the books any longer. Let's find a new book about the zoo that makes everyone feel included and loved. That seems ok to me.