Why ban "Little Black Sambo"?
Feb 27 '01
The Bottom Line Censorship is not very helpful, since the censor also
has prejudices. It is much better to have critical debate
on books which are of questionable value.
Little Black Sambo is just one of my childhood favourites which will not be on any school library's
shelves nowadays. This is one book which many people consider racist, but is it?
"Little Black Sambo" is the story of a black boy who has a
new outfit and meets a tiger in the jungle who wants his
new clothes for himself. So Little Black Sambo takes off
all his clothes one by one and the tigers put them on. Then
when there are no clothes left, the tigers argue as to who
is the grandest. They chase after each other until all that's left is a pool of grease which Little Black Sambo
takes home. His mother cooks pancakes for all the family
with the ghee and everyone is happy.
So which part of this book is racist? The title? According
to my dictionary, Sambo is a nickname for negro, and
perhaps it does have derogatory racial overtones nowadays,
but I would argue that this was not the writer's intention.
Just as my great aunt used the term, "coloured" as a
courtesy title for black people, this term has totally
fallen out of favour.
So, the book is banned because of the title. Certainly,
to me it's a tale of covetousness and greed, of scary
wild animals and happy family times. It has all the
ingredients of a good story - suspense, strong plot
and the illustrations are bold and colorful.
And I wonder how many other books are banned because of
a tiny part which is not acceptable nowadays. I certainly
would hate to go back to the days where there is
discrimination on racial grounds, but books must be
seen in the context they were written in, and if there
are parts which need to be explained, then explain - don't
just ban.
When books are banned, it often gives them more publicity,
and then books of questionable quality may get more
prominence than they deserve. Who isn't intrigued by the
forbidden?
As a librarian, I stand for free access to all kinds of
materials. I remember a friend telling me that he asked
for a biography of Casanova and the librarian told his
wife who was working in the library that he must be
a pervert, when in fact he was doing legitimate research.
One of the great things about my own school days was the
excellent libraries which I experienced. And, interestingly
enough, I learnt a lot about the "facts of life" from
the "Children's Encyclopaedia Britannica"! I can just see
that being banned...
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Epinions.com ID:
amysmum
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Member: Catriona Sinclair
Location: Bonny Scotland
Reviews written: 165
Trusted by: 92 members
About Me:
Autumn is on the way...time to curl up with a good book.
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