Little Larka Sambo (aka Little Black Sambo)

FCL: Discussions -- Little Black Sambo and Racism

Alex brought me "Little Black Sambo" to read. (It's the "Indian" version, one of Sr. Sharen Baldy's books. I think we read the version with blackface illustrations when I was a kid.)

I like the story, and I started reading it, but quickly started experimenting with leaving out the "black." "Little Sambo" is sorta ok, but loses its rhythm.

So this morning I whited-out the "Black," but the story seemed bare, and I found Hindi words for mother (ma), father (bap) and boy (larka), and substituted them in the names--Ma Mumbo, Bap Jumbo, and Little Larka Sambo.

While I was surfing, I read thru a long conversation of librarians and book specialists about the subject. That's the link above. They talked about a whole lot of racial baggage that may or may not be contained in this story. There are also some interesting adaptations there: Little Kid Foxtrot and Blond Barbie.

After reading all that commentary, I remembered that the previous book Alex had brought me had been about Vikings, and we had just talked about how Vikings mostly had blond hair and blue eyes, like his mama, and he had told me he had dark hair and brown skin. He did seem to think it was important, maybe an identity. (Of course, when he's with his cousins in Mexico, he appears to be very light-skinned.) At the time, I didn't make any connection with this and Little Black Sambo. I wasn't thinking about the fact that I was reading to a little boy who could very well be the subject of discrimination. I just knew I didn't like saying Black Mumbo, Black Jumbo and Black Sambo.

Alex liked the story. The ending surprised him. I plan to keep it on the bookshelf and see how it flies in its new incarnation.

This is the same evening that we sat on the swing with the boys and sang songs--Found a Peanut, Brush Your Teeth Each Morning, Oh I Wish I Was in the Land of Cotton.

And since the power was out, as I lit the candles around the house, I had Benjamin with me, and we said "Glory be to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end, amen."

This is being a grandmother. It's so much easier when the power is out.