Dr Seuss museum to replace ‘racial stereotype’ mural
A controversial mural at a Dr Seuss Museum in Massachusetts will be replaced after several children’s authors complained that it promoted racial stereotypes – and said they were boycotting an upcoming festival at the newly opened museum because of it.
Mo Willems, Lisa Yee and Mike Curato issued a joint letter saying they were skipping the upcoming Children’s Literature Festival in Springfield, Massachusetts.
They said the mural at the Amazing World of Dr Seuss Museum, which illustrates a scene from Theodor Geisel’s And To Think That Saw It On Mulberry Street, included a ‘‘jarring racial stereotype of a Chinese man who is depicted with chopsticks, a pointed hat and slanted slit eyes’’. The authors called the caricature ‘‘deeply hurtful’’.
Following the uproar, Dr Seuss Enterprises, which oversees the
Iauthor’s estate, said it would replace the mural with another image depicting another of Dr Seuss’s stories.
‘‘This is what Dr Seuss would have wanted us to do,’’ it said in a statement. ‘‘His later books, like The Sneetches and Horton Hears A Who, showed a great respect for fairness and diversity.
‘‘Dr Seuss would have loved to be a part of this dialogue for change. In fact, Ted Geisel himself said, ‘It’s not how you start that counts. It’s what you are at the finish’.’’
Willems, Yee and Curato had been invited to appear at the festival on October 14 at the museum, which opened in June. ‘‘While this image may have been considered amusing to some when it was published 80 years ago, it is obviously offensive in 2017,’’ they wrote.
‘‘For some children who visit the museum, their only interaction with Asian representation might be that painting. For others, seeing themselves represented in such a stereotypical way may feed into internalised, even subconscious shame and humiliation.
‘‘It is incumbent on our public institutions to present all races in a fair manner.‘‘
The festival was later cancelled. The dustup comes amid a broader debate about how Dr Seuss books – some of which depict old stereotypes – fit into an evolving culture.
That debate roared back into the spotlight last month after US First Lady Melania Trump sent 10 Dr Seuss books to a school in each state, and a librarian in Cambridge, Massachusetts, sent them back, complaining that ‘‘Dr Seuss’s illustrations are steeped in racist propaganda, caricatures, and harmful stereotypes’’.
Willems, Yee and Curato said they expressed their concerns to the museum, and ‘‘unfortunately, the administration replied that it was the responsibility of visitors to contextualise the oversized painting of the ‘Chinaman’ for their younger wards, not theirs’’.
After the mural replacement decision was announced by Dr Seuss Enterprises, the authors applauded the news.
Officials at the museum said they requested a meeting with the authors to discuss the matter but were rebuffed.
In a letter sent to the authors, Kay Simpson, president of the Springfield Museums and Dr Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden, wrote that the museum ‘‘contains unedited material by Dr Seuss during his lifetime’’ and that ‘‘we do not alter or edit an artist’s work’’.
‘‘Dr Seuss’s books taught life lessons, from being a faithful friend, to not discriminating based upon appearances, to keeping your promises,’’ Simpson wrote. ‘‘Dr Seuss was a product of his era, and his attitudes evolved over time.‘‘
Dr Seuss Enterprises said Geisel was ‘‘a man of his times. He was also a man who evolved with his times’’.