Open Thread: How Do We Deal with Racist Materials?

by Latoya Peterson

Anna, over at Jezebel, sent a fascinating article about a library’s decision to pull the Tintin books out of regular circulation:

[I]f you go to the Brooklyn Public Library seeking a copy of “Tintin au Congo,” Hergé’s second book in a series, prepare to make an appointment and wait days to see the book.

“It’s not for the public,” a librarian in the children’s room said this month when a patron asked to see it.

The book, published 79 years ago, was moved in 2007 from the public area of the library to a back room where it is held under lock and key.

The move came after a patron objected, as others have, to the way Africans are depicted in the book. “The content is racially offensive to black people,’’ a librarian wrote on Form 286, also known as a Request for Reconsideration of Library Material [pdf].

I’ll add my thoughts a bit later in the thread – but readers, what do you think of this situation?

(Image Credit: NY Times)