Little Black Sambo

"Once upon a time there was an English lady in India, where black children abound and tigers are everyday affairs, who had two little girls. To amuse these little girls she used now and then to invent stories..."

-Preface, 1900 edition

This is how author and illustrator Helen Bannerman explains the origin of her tale The Story of Little Black Sambo. In the story, the boy Sambo is outfitted with clothing and accessories by his mother Mumbo and father Jumbo. Entering the jungle, tigers agree to take Sambo's possessions in exchange for not eating him. When the tigers see each other, they fight to determine who is the grandest in there purloined finery. Biting each others tails, they run in circles until they, naturally melt into ghe butter (this is India, after all) and Sambo retrieves his clothing.  Father collects the butter, mother makes pancakes, and Sambo eats the lot.

It is not hard to see the overt and subversive racism in Little Black Sambo. In the original illustrations Sambo and his family are caricatures of Southern India or Tamil and in a later 1927 American edition the illustrations of Frank Dobias depict the characters in Black Face, with white eyes and large, ruby-red lips. While the story's structure is certainly common, many folk tales of outsmarting anthropomorphic animals for reward are told around the world, it is the depiction and characterization of Sambo that are offensive. That the story was intended to entertain little (white) girls clearly illustrates the pervasive and instructive aspects of institutional or cultural racism. The name Sambo, according to wikipedia (for what that is worth) became a racial slur, even referenced in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man.  

What happens when a book becomes controversial, is maybe challenged, and then simply disappears? I remember reading Little Black Sambo as a kid and being told there was nothing specifically racist about the story. Now, I think it would be difficult to find the book in circulation in a library or for sale. These two editions came from special collections at the University of Vermont's library. Not that I would ever promote the book as a benchmark of cultural understanding, but have we "banned" the book from others by our mutual agreement not to continue its publication? The story is still  popular enough to have inspired a number of spin-off modern versions, what is our debt to the original? Granted, Little Black Sambo does not specifically call for racism or discrimination, but as a children's book it certainly establishes a basis or foundation for racist views, implying that such depictions are okay.  I suppose my question is, what should our responsibility be towards outdated, offensive, or racist views?  Why are some works treasured, or even justified, while others fade away? Should we ignore it or hold it up as a caution and reminder?  

Up next: As I Lay Dying

Correction: Little Black Sambo does appear on the ALA 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000 at #90.