Leftist 'Study' Brands Dr. Seuss As 'Racist' And 'Problematic'

As Dr. Seuss’ birthday approaches on March 2, a new study argues that many of the author’s classic children’s books are racist and problematic — and only two percent of his characters represent people of color.

“[This study reveals] how racism spans across the entire Seuss collection, while debunking myths about how books like Horton Hears a Who! and The Sneetches can be used to promote tolerance, anti-bias, or anti-racism,” Katie Ishizuka and Ramón Stephens write in their February 2019 report, “The Cat is Out of the Bag: Orientalism, AntiBlackness, and White Supremacy in Dr. Seuss’ s Children’s Books,” as part of St. Catherine University’s Research on Diversity in Youth Literature.

They continue: “Findings from this study promote awareness of the racist narratives and images in Dr. Seuss’ children’s books and implications to the formation and reinforcement of racial biases in children.”

[...] “I don’t think nostalgia is a defense. Affection is not a defense,” Philip Nel, a professor of English as Kansas State University, told Education Week. “What you have to do is take a deep breath, step back, and realize that the culture in which these books live and in which these books were written is a racist culture and a sexist culture.”