08 3 / 2012
MARCH 2, 1904: DR. SEUSS BORN
On this day in 1904, Theodor Seuss Geisel was born. He would have been 108 today.
Most people know Dr. Seuss as the man behind The Cat in the Hat. But how many know that Yertle the Turtle was modeled after Hitler - or that Dr. Seuss created WWII political cartoons that denounced racism, isolationism and other issues of the day?
From 1941 to 1943, Seuss served as chief editorial cartoonist for the New York liberal newspaper PM, and his work commented on issues of the day. His political cartoons during World War II denounced isolationism, racism and anti-Semitism.However, in Dr. Seuss Goes to War, historian Richard H. Minear, writes: “…it is a surprise that a person who denounces anti-black racism and anti-Semitism so eloquently can be oblivious of his own racist treatment of Japanese and Japanese Americans…. to realize that the cartoonist is the same Dr. Seuss we celebrate today for his imagination and tolerance and breadth of vision: this is a sobering experience.”
Flip through Independent Lens’ “The Political Dr. Seuss” photo gallery.
Images: Dr. Seuss/ Random House
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08 3 / 2012
María Elena Moyano, a prominent Black Peruvian community organizer, was assassinated by members of Peru’s Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) organization twenty years ago today, on February 15, 1992.
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08 3 / 2012
Looking for a prom dress that’s big on style but small in price? These cheap and chic frocks will have you looking like a million bucks - without dipping into your savings. Check out our guide to 100 dresses under $100 »
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08 3 / 2012
Campaign to arrest Joseph Kony goes viral
An Invisible Children campaign to bring the accused war criminal, who’s the fugitive head of Uganda’s Lord’s Resistance Army, to justice has gone viral.
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