On March 2., Dr. Seuss Enterprises, the company which protects the legacy of Theodor Seuss Geisel, announced that it will be ending the publication of six Dr. Seuss children’s books. This includes two of Seuss’s most well known works And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street and If I Ran the Zoo, published in 1937 and 1950 respectively. The publication of these books was halted due to the way in which the stories and illustrations perpetuate racial and ethnic stereotypes. And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street depicts an Asian man with yellow skin, a long black braid, a cone shaped hat and slanted eyes who eats with sticks. Similarly, If I Ran the Zoo features caricatures of Asian and African animal caretakers.

This recent step to end their publication and licensure is a major shock to those who grew up on Dr. Seuss and loved his books. I will not deny that the content of these books and their portrayal of certain minorities was unacceptable. But many classical works are still considered incredibly important and influential despite racist or offensive portrayals. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) uses the N-word [more than 200 times] (https://www.csmonitor.com/Books/Latest-News-Wires/2011/0105/Huck-Finn-Controversy-over-removing-the-N-word-from-Mark-Twain-novel), but is praised as a crucial text for understanding race relations in the United States in the 19th century. The Merchant of Venice (1600) stereotypically portrays Jewish people as greedy, but Shakespeare is praised for his deep understanding of human nature.

Completely eliminating texts that negatively portray racial stereotypes prevents us from actively dealing with their problematic content. Instead, critically consuming this content should be a learning process through which we can work on identifying stereotypes, understanding their historical context and trying to neutralize their negative effects. If we are not willing to have uncomfortable conversations about the problematic imagery in such works, especially given their young target audience, they do not provide us an opportunity to learn.

It is incredibly misguided to think that racist imagery in young children’s content doesn’t have any negative effect because their audience is “too young” to think about racism or view minorities negatively. [Research studies] (https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2020/08/children-notice-race) have found that many infants and preschool age children are already capable of developing racial biases or racist beliefs. The sooner we are willing to have these difficult conversations with the kids who absorb this content, the better.

For example, Disney has [made efforts to address racist content in old movies] (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/18/business/media/disney-plus-disclaimers.html), by implementing a disclaimer to films including Dumbo (1941), The Aristocats (1970), Lady and the Tramp (1955), The Jungle Book (1967) and Peter Pan (1953) on their Disney+ streaming network and removed the films from kids’ profiles under the age of 12. Dumbo features musical numbers alluding to minstrel shows and one of the featured characters is a crow by the name of “Jim Crow,” alluding to U.S. racial segregation laws. Peter Pan features stereotypical depictions of Native American culture. Lady and the Tramp and The Aristocats feature Siamese cats that portray anti-Asian stereotypes. The Jungle Book features an ape character who is inarticulate and lazy, perpetuating anti-African American stereotypes.

The Disney+ disclaimer reads “This program includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures. These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now.” This disclaimer is a better approach to dealing with problematic content because it forcibly sparks a conversation rather than trying to erase or prevent future viewing of the content. And by eliminating the films from kids’ accounts, any kids watching this movie will have to do so with their parents who can, ideally, help them understand the disclaimer and talk them through the stereotypes and what makes them unacceptable.

Countless children’s books and movies that portray race and identity in a positive and educational manner have been published in recent years. These are works that portray truth and respect, which is what children need to see. Establishing these positive works as the baseline of children’s content provides a crucial foundation for uncomfortable, but necessary, conversations about portrayals of stereotypes in other children’s content.

But when it comes to problematic works, it is also important to acknowledge that works which contain and propagate racial stereotypes can have a positive influence on the children who grow up reading and watching them. Both If I Ran the Zoo and And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street teach young readers about the incredible power of imagination and remind adults not to stifle their children’s imaginations. Dumbo teaches us to include those who are different from us. Peter Pan teaches the importance of preserving imagination even in adulthood and other traits like courage, love and memory. Dr. Seuss also wrote multiple other works such as The Sneetches and Horton Hears a Who that actively challenge racial stereotypes and champion inclusion — but these exist alongside his other works that fail to honor racial differences. These are works that can still play an integral role in childhood, but we have to continue to tackle the difficult parts of these works.

All of the works mentioned above were published at least 50 years ago, but times and attitudes have certainly changed. We need to use these works as the basis of anti-racism education that aims to show the origins of these stereotypes, why they are wrong now and why they were wrong when they were published and to empower children whose identities have been attacked. Do not take Dr. Seuss books off the shelf or cancel your Disney+ subscription. Do not censor or cancel these works, but use them to start critical conversations about race, to highlight the progress society has made and how much progress we yet have to make.