The new buzz phrase is “cancel culture,” which brings with it the gnashing of teeth and the feeling that the old ways just weren’t good enough. I call what happens from year to year, and decade to decade “change.” Or “evolution” of thought. But that’s me. I feel that words matter. The old, “sticks & stones” rhyme is something we learned in kindergarten, but we were given that argument by parents or teachers who wanted to make us feel better. In truth, words really do matter.

People hear that they should no longer revere Confederate statues, and they wonder…Why not? People hear that indigenous nations don’t want their ancestors attached to sports teams and the question again is…Why not? Dr. Seuss Enterprises announces that they will no longer print a few books that embody stereotypical images of persons of color, and once again, the masses are shocked, and ask, What’s going on? Dr. Seuss, the thinking goes, is American as apple pie. Okay, come with me as we parse out these three examples.

On the topic of Confederate statues erected in public spaces, let’s discuss Robert E. Lee, the Confederate general who led troops into Pennsylvania in June 1863, resulting in the deaths of 23,000 Union soldiers. As a slaveowner, Lee’s belief was that black skin made a human inferior. It meant it was okay to buy and sell humans, to sell off children from their mothers, and to whip the skin of black men and women (and even teens) if rules were broken.

People do not like to compare slaveowners with the likes of Hitler. However, look closely. Hitler believed in the superiority of a specific ethnicity (blond, blue-eyed). He abhorred Jews, as we know. But his view of black skin was no better than slaveowners in the United States.

Now, imagine that you are walking in a park in Lexington, Virginia, where a statue of Robert E. Lee gleams in the sunlight. You are holding the hand of a child, a child with black skin, and that child asks, Who is that? The answer is…Robert E. Lee, who believed that you, as a black person, would have belonged to him and other whites like him. Lee believed that you were stupid, and he fought to keep your great-grandparents enslaved. When the child asks, But why is the statue here in the park? You answer, Because white folks think he was a hero.

Some folks say it’s because Lee represents history. But it was a history that smacked of sedition and enslavement. Statues in a museum serve history’s purpose. But in a public park, not so much.

Next, let’s look sports teams who have used mascots that refer to indigenous nations and their people. Consider this list: St. Louis Cardinals, Indianapolis Colts, Philadelphia Eagles, Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Falcons. And then consider the mascot that was used until 2020 by the Washington-based team, the Washington Redskins. Why the shift from using animals to people? Are you comparing the indigenous to animals?

My grandmother read many books, and I have been the lucky recipient of some of them. One of which was Betty Zane by Zane Grey, published in 1903. In it, the author refers to “the red man” and “savages” throughout. Keep in mind, that the book was written only about a decade after the massacre at Wounded Knee. Two hours southeast of Mount Rushmore, traveling through the Pine Ridge Reservation where Lakota Sioux live today, is a cemetery where 150 members of their nation are buried—innocent men, women, and children were killed by federal agents over what amounted to bigotry. My husband, daughter, and I drove to the site of Wounded Knee in 2009, thinking there would be some suitable marker. What we found was a rusted old sign, and of course the well-tended cemetery.

Don’t think for a minute that the Sioux of southern South Dakota have forgotten that their aunts, cousins, and grandmothers were murdered in that spot. So when American sports teams use the term, “redskin,” it hurts.

On the topic of Dr. Seuss, let’s focus on the fact that there are SIXTY titles in this series. The SIX titles affected include: On Beyond Zebra!, Scrambled Eggs Super!, The Cat’s Quizzer, McElligot’s Pool, and Seuss’ first book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.

Thankfully, none of the six books are on my happy list. In fact, I’ve never ever heard of these titles which were pulled by Dr. Seuss Enterprises (DSE) on March 2, 2021, also known as “Read Across America Day”—a day that encourages children to read a book. DSE cited “racists images” for their decision. Just as Pekin High School (in Pekin, IL, near Peoria) did away with its “Chinks” mascot in 1981, and Wahpeton, North Dakota, did away with it’s “Wops” mascot in the 1990s, Dr. Seuss Enterprises acknowledges that the time has come for change. They acknowledge that stereotypical slurs injure those they depict.

Theodor Seuss Geisel’s stepdaughter, Lark Grey Dimond-Cates, said in an interview that the author “didn’t have a racist bone in his body.” She continued, “I think in this day and age it’s a wise decision,” she said, citing the “difficult, painful” circumstances of the current moment.

To be clear, the “current moment” comes at a time when white supremists have banded together and gotten more violent. From the Charlottesville, Virginia, murder of Heather Heyer, to the recent mass shooting of Asian women in Atlanta.

From a historian’s perspective, eras continually open and close. It’s called “change.” Using the term, Cancel Culture, speaks of injury. It speaks of lamentation of the loss of something that has been cancelled. Perhaps those who use this term feel that they themselves are being cancelled. Their way of thinking is being questioned. It’s okay! Our grandmothers and parents have all been there! Whether it’s modes of speaking, dressing, or where to live or whether to have children, things…change.

Change is hard. We of course recognize this. But if we focus on the good, we can find many things to be grateful for. One of them, for me personally, is a greater awareness of what it means to be American in this melting pot where indigenous peoples live on the same continent as those of European, African, Asian, and Indian descent, among others. Personally, I’m grateful that more people than ever are reading about atrocious history in this country. Stories that have been buried and ignored. I welcome the changes we’re seeing if it means a greater awareness that every person in this country deserves opportunities to live in peace, and be respected by their fellow citizens.

Thanks for reading.

Melanie Holmes