newsweek | Cancel culture activists have come for Dr. Seuss, who they deem a racist despite the fact that his books were undoubtedly woke for their time. It shouldn't be dismissed as yet another silly instance of fringe activists overreacting. It's part of a coordinated campaign to indoctrinate children to take on progressive causes.
After complaints from teachers and academics, Dr. Seuss Enterprises decided to cease publishing six books, including And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street and Scrambled Eggs Super!, accused of having racist and insensitive imagery.
The move was supposedly long in the works, but it comes as Virginia's Loudoun County Public Schools issued guidance to promote "inclusive and diverse" books rather than to "simply celebrate Dr. Seuss." Read Across America Day coincides with Dr. Seuss' birthday.
"Research in recent years has revealed strong racial undertones in many books written/illustrated by Dr. Seuss," the school district said in a statement.
One piece of that "research" comes from Katie Ishizuka and Ramón Stephens, two social justice activists behind the Conscious Kid, an organization "dedicated to equity and promoting healthy racial identity development in youth."
Both authors use critical race theory to condemn Dr. Seuss. They compared the number of white characters with the number of those representing minority communities, and judged the "dominance" and "master narrative" exhibited by white characters. They looked for stereotypes and characters who were dehumanized or exoticized.
Their study, "The Cat is Out of the Bag: Orientalism, Anti-Blackness, and White Supremacy in Dr. Seuss's Children's Books," has been championed by activists seeking to remove books they deem problematic and replace them with content that teaches kids through a critical race theory lens.
"The Cat's physical appearance, including the Cat's oversized top hat, floppy bow tie, white gloves, and frequently open mouth, mirrors actual blackface performers; as does the role he plays as 'entertainer' to the white family—in whose house he doesn't belong," Ishizuka said of Dr. Seuss's The Cat in the Hat.
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