Racist Cartoons, Toys, Nursery Rhymes, Songs, and Popular Phrases

F*** Your Racist History

Over the centuries, white supremacy has been marketed to American children through popular toys like "mammy" dolls and in cartoons with names like "Little Black Sambo." More recently, several of Dr. Seuss' children’s books have also been criticized as being insensitive by promoting racist stereotypes. Many rhymes and songs that we learned in our own childhoods, and that we may now teach our children or grandchildren, are also deeply rooted in racism. This not-so-subtle conditioning to white supremacy as children can lead to unconscious bias in adults. In this episode of F*** Your Racist History, we explore the racist undertones in our beloved childhood entertainment as well as the overt racism in some commonly used phrases and music, even the lyrics of the United States' National Anthem.