Recently another Dr.Seuss book has been yanked from publication earlier this week making it the sixth children’s book from Seuss that infers alleged racism. Children grow up celebrating the now controversial author Dr.Seuss through Cat in the Hat days, eating green eggs and ham, and ultimately the first source of learning how to rhyme in a creative way that broadens a child’s imagination.
The famous childrens’ books have gone under speculation as some of them after reading in between the lines and past the fun play on rhyming words, appeared to have hints of racism throughout them. The Associated Press deemed the words in the books to be hurtful and wrong and six of his books will no longer be published. Some consider this long overdue as Seuss has allegedly always left racist remarks in his books.
Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida has a popular attraction titled Seuss Landing in their park where it brings the books of famous Seuss books to life for children to feel like they are living in their favorite books. As it has and continues to be a very popular area for young children and their families, there are references in the area to some of the books that have been yanked from publishing. As the conversation of Seuss to be a racist continues, Universal questions if it is the right thing to do to remove Seuss Landing from their Florida location.
From a PR standpoint, the conversation of racism always needs to be heard and action needs to be taken. It would be in Universal’s best interest to promote diversity and make that bold stand to remove this area or remove the messages from the books that are no longer published. I believe this will attract more visitors to the park to see not only what this area could become, but to go to a place where they feel the owners are inclusive and not afraid of “uncomfortable” conversations.
As generations continue to move on, the removal of Seuss Landing may not have any negative impact as younger kids have new idols to look up to and new stories to learn and tell. Dr.Seuss could be removed from the typical learning curricular and a more inclusive author could become the icon of the rhyming world. Racism is not something to ever be taken lightly and Universal should listen to their audience and make the right decision.