Dr. Seuss also grew up six human generations ago. Back when gay people were legally not-people and killed. Back when interracial marriage was illegal. Back when a black man could be lynched on the suspicion he was out of line. Back when the most distrusted group in the non-south were Catholics. Back when there was no food safety, no environmental protections, rampant poverty, and no public education.

What was that about death of the artist?

we encourage discussions on how we have moved forward and no longer murder people left and right for being with the people they love. How justice should be as an ideal to strive for. How racist caricatures lead to wars where millions of people died. We learn from the past, get better, move forward or we kill our society. And part of that learning is reading the classics and seeing how far we have come and how far we still need to go.

These are CHILDREN'S BOOKS. Ain't nobody talking about the dangers of racist caricatures when they read "If I Ran the Zoo" with their 2nd graders. High school English class, reading Huck Finn, R&J, and Moby Dick? Absolutely. Have those discussions. Problematize the texts. But recognize that a 7 year old probably isn't ready to deconstruct this.