Carolyn
Rills on Literature, "Little Black Sambo" and
the Politically Correct
They say our nose is our most memorable feature.
I think the eyes but my husband would argue for
ankles.
They say our sense of smell is the best memory-recaller
of all our senses. I don't think many would argue
with that. Though I think literature matches the
nose. Especially children's literature.
In fact, as I was scanning The Book Lover's
Cookbook: Recipes Inspired by Celebrated Works
of Literature, and the Passages That Feature Them
by Shaunda Kennedy Wenger and a new online friend
of mine, Janet Kay Jensen
www.JanetJensen.com), I was moved to write
about memories.
Maybe it was the pancake recipe (this one made
with a tablespoon of applesauce!) and the mention
of Sambo. Sambo who was practically a staple for
me in the pantry of children's literature. Sambo
who made pancakes more than just breakfast food.
Sambo of the exotic shoes with curled up toes.
Sambo who helped me understand that one finds
tigers in India as well as the Hogle zoo.
When I was growing up, we had Little Black Sambo
restaurants even. There were illustrations of
the story around the counter. That made me want
to sit on a stool but no one would ever let me.
Booth sitting was more our family's style.
Perhaps the view was better from a booth. There
was Little Black Sambo, looking Indian, not African.
And swirls of tiger butter. Black Mumbo, his mama,
with her apron strings tied and yes, her white
teeth looking very white, stirring up the batter.
And, of course, those stacks of pancakes, one
hundred and sixty-nine because Sambo was so hungry
from all he had to do as the clever and courageous
protagonist in that old children's story.
Of course, that was before we all got politically
correct. Which I believe in, that politically
correct business. But not when it comes to literature.
Literature (in this case, a story by Helen Bannerman
and the recipe book for book-lovers from these
brave two women authors who dared buck the tide
against those who would have us forget any story
that has anything to do with race or stereotype
including the Tales of Old Uncle Remus).
They included Sambo as inspiration for pancake
lovers everywhere!
Literature, it turns out, helps recall memories
nearly as well as the sense of smell. When it
comes to literature, I simply hate PC.
Stories like these - the ones we seem so happy
to discard - give us a chance to tell our children
about the way it was back then. To explain how
big prejudices grow out of little ones, but also
how valuable it is to understand our proclivities
for generalizing so we can do battle with those
baser instincts. They give us a chance to understand
our history and, yes, to remember the innocence
of childhood. I thought Sambo brave and, yes,
I thought (even then) that Mumbo should probably
not eat so many pancakes.
I do not recall that the story made me think
that all people with dark skin ate too many pancakes
or were, mmmm, overweight. Not a bit. Not any
more than I thought that butter was really made
from a mix of melted tiger and Sambo's courage.
So now. We no longer have Sambo's restaurant
in Salt Lake City where I grew up. We can't find
The Story of Little Black Sambo on the
shelves or our libraries or bookstores. Unless
we were clever enough to keep one of our old copies
of Sambo stashed away in a bookcase somewhere,
we don't have the books. I haven't seen one in
decades.
Still, we do have -- and will always have --
oral tradition. And we do have authors like Shaunda
Kennedy Wenger and Janet Kay Jensen who care more
for books and tradition than they do politics.
Oh, yes. We do have our memories.
Buyers' Information:
The Book Lover's Cookbook
By Shaunda Kennedy Wenger and Janet Kay Jensen
Ballantine Books, © 2003
ISBN 0345465466
Reading group discussion in the back of the book
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