Comments on: More On Racism in Little House

By: Queena

Queena — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 01:51:30 +0000

As a Black child (and now adult) I love(d) LHotP. As a child the racism went right over my head. I’ve always loved history, all kinds of history, so I was aware of racism in the past. Now that I’m 36, and reading the books again the racism bothers me. Ma in particular. I’m reading Little Town now and had totally forgot about the ‘darkies’. The racism doesn’t take away my love for the books. It does however annoy me. Should they be banned? No! This is our history.

By: Eve

Eve — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 21:26:32 +0000

Many people don’t realise that a lot of black artists also perfomed in blackface in the 19th century and well into the twentieth. In the 19th century it was more acceptable than appearing with their real ‘black’ skin! Black and white performers both emulated and parodied each other. The cakewalk, for instance, mocked white behaviour, only to then be parodied by whites. I am ashamed to say that as late as 1978 the BBC aired The Black and White Minstrel Show in the UK but this kind of thing wasn’t on my radar when I was first reading LIW in the 70s. I was more caught up in the identity of the ‘Darky’ performers and whether or not Pa had shaved off his beard!
I don’t know how I’d approach it with a child now but I do know we can’t sanitise or ignore history and that is increasingly what I see Laura’s books as – a depiction of a time and place. You could potentially attack them from so many angles – feminism, racism, child labour. Dickens was often less than complimentary about Jews but nobody talks of banning or editing his books.
I’m sure your daughter will be like her Mum and read intelligently and question these things for herself when the time is right.

By: Amy

Amy — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 05:51:34 +0000

Several of the replies state the term darky was acceptable then and was not used in a derogatory way. The terms was acceptable for white people maybe, but never for blacks. It was used at a time when black were chattel. Once they were freed, it was still used during a time where black men and women were addressed as boy and girl. To classify the terms and the attitudes that go along with them as anything else but racism and prejudice is simply not true.

By: Pa in Blackface: Confronting racism in our children’s books at Anti-Racist Parent - for parents committed to raising children with an anti-racist outlook

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:33:20 +0000

[...] So how’s a concerned parent to handle it? Well, in her post, the author tentatively ventures that maybe it’s best to ignore it:…. I figured I’d chime in with my thoughts over here and kick the trackback to the blog entry.

I’d venture to say that the classmates mentioned here – the classmates different from the poster’s apparently majority child – are having an entirely different experience and their experience is part of that school’s (and her child’s) collective experience and it’s worth exploring critically even at six. [...]

By: Connie

Connie — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:07:57 +0000

Growing up in the 1950s-60s, I read the LH books – and the Lois Lenski books – for what they were even then, a glimpse into a time long ago. Later as a librarian and teacher, I tried to convey this attitude about the writing, context and setting to my teaching staff and to children readers. The Native American issues became a regular question more in the 1990s. The “darkies” was not questioned mainly because LTonP was rarely read in class or aloud.
Getting back to LHotP, when Laura sees Dr. Tan for the first time, her observation is in wonder and admiration. (Read the “Fever ‘N’ Ague” chapter – “Laura had never see a black man before and she could not take her eyes off Dr. Tan. He was so very black. She would have been afraid of him if she had not liked him so much.”)
The term “darky” and the “n” word was used by my grandparents, not in a derogatory sense – it’s just what was said then.
Another note: Most of the minstrel shows in the mid- to late- 1800s were done in “black face”, when traveling black minstrels were not in the region. Stephen Foster’s music was written and performed for these shows. Many of his songs we would never hear today because they often use the word “darky”. Even some that we do hear have had some of the words changed to suit the current times (Camptown Races, Old Folks Back Home, etc.).
All of this is not justification…it is understanding our American History and the growing up process. You will know what to tell your daughter when the time comes. Be thankful that she asks questions and thinks about what she is reading.

By: Elliemae

Elliemae — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:01:08 +0000

Historical context is everything, and reading LIW’s books with this in mind is essential. Things like the minstrel show and Ma’s comments about indians make the stories more authentic, and give the reader a better understanding of the attitudes that really existed in that time and place. I like Wendy’s idea–a brief contextual note in LTOTP would be a beneficial addition.

I do cringe a bit when I read the minstrel show part of the book now, but didn’t even bat an eye as a child. People, I think, are generally more sensitized to such things these days.

By: Wendy

Wendy — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 04:20:54 +0000

I must have completely missed the “darky” stuff when I was a child, too, because I was floored when I came across it again as an adult. But I wouldn’t ever presume that all kids would have the same blissfully naive experience that I did.

I work in children’s books where we’re always wracking our brains over this kind of stuff. I think that Garth Williams illustration is pretty dismaying, especially considering it was done in the early 1950s.

Is that illustration even in the newer books anymore? (The editons that still use the Garth Williams art, that is?) I only have my old 1970s paperbacks, so I have no idea. If it’s still there, and if it were up to me, I’d just take it out. What it signifies now is so vastly different from what LIW intended for that scene.

I do think LTOTP could use some kind of brief contextual note in the back of the book, both for kids who are old enough to have questions, as well as for parents who are struggling to explain the historical context.

By: Sandra Hume

Sandra Hume — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 04:06:30 +0000

Dr. Laura, oh my gosh! I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. You’re right about the slang and insults, now that I think about it. Her school is half Mexican-American and I think she has been exposed to at least some of that; I can recall at least one conversation where a generally derogatory comment was made. We told her why it was wrong and that was that. I appreciate your school perspective.

By: Dr Laura

Dr Laura — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:18:08 +0000

I think that if the child is old enough to understand the content of the book, and if it is being read aloud, then an explanation needs to be made along the lines of it being something that is now inappropriate to say. If she is reading it to herself and doesn’t question it, let it slide. That may seem contradictory but I believe in the saying “do not trouble trouble till trouble troubles you.” Now, with older children who have a good understanding of content, context and genre, then by all means, explain the meaning, the intent and the inappropriateness.

Don’t be too naive because your child will run into racist slang and insults as soon as he or she enters school. It is one of the most common problems I deal with as a principal…no matter what socio-economic level the school has been.

At my upper echelon school a little girl came in off the playground quite upset because she was convinced we had spray painted the “n” word on the blacktop. I went out to see what she was talking about. There on our spray painted world map was “Niger”. It became a geography lesson but not until after she told the whole second grade about the “n” word.

By: Whit

Whit — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:01:51 +0000

I just read that part in “LTOTP” last night. I haven’t read the books since I was in grade school…I had no recollection of the “darkies.” I was shocked reading it now, but then it must have not had an impact on me at all.
My how the world has changed.