Little Black Sambo This paper explores the controversial story, Little Black Sambo first published in 1899 by the Scottish author, Helen Bannerman. In the United States, opposition to the book’s racist language, including the derogatory name, “Sambo” and to the illustrations portraying people of color as caricatures, began in the 1930s (Pilgrim, 2000). Twenty years later, the work was banned in many schools and libraries (Plummer, 2014). The story’s protagonist is a young boy named Sambo who is forced by four tigers to give them his clothing, shoes, and umbrella in exchange for not eating him. Later, a fierce fight ensues between the tigers, arguing over who look’s grandest in Sambo’s attire. The speed of their attack on each another causes the tigers to melt into clarified butter, also called ghee. Sambo’s father collects the ghee, and the family has pancakes for dinner (Bannerman, 1899). Recollections and Reflections (presented as a personal account in the first person) …show more content…
It was a worn copy that my mother and aunts had read in their childhood. Apparently, I wasn’t the only six-year-old who thought that having pancakes for dinner gave the story an exciting ending. However, the narrative left me pitying Sambo and feeling embarrassed seeing him reduced to wearing a grass skirt. Looking back as an adult, the racism is appalling. If I had children, they would not read this book until they were old enough to see the piece in the context of its racial insensitivity and cultural