The Laura Ingalls Wilder Award is now named the Children’s Literature Legacy Award. Why? "Racial insensitivity" in a fictionalized memoir written in the 1930s by a woman who grew up in the pioneer west. The name change, in and of itself, is not the real issue.
The real issue is the implication that Laura was a racist.
In the course of the novels, and of her life, Laura lived in actual danger from the Osage. This is a matter of historical record. Her family settled on Osage land when she was a child. She heard the ceremonial dancing - which may have been the "war whoops" she mentions. She also defended their right to be angry (a child speaking to her mother) and felt bad for them when they relocated under duress.
I believe it's in a later book that her father is quoted as saying "That's a good Indian" and no, he was not referring to a dead one. That oft-quoted line was not spoken by an Ingalls.
Her life, and those of her family, was saved by a black man. In retelling that story, his race is barely mentioned. Again, a matter of historical record.
There is the matter of the minstrel show. At the time of the event, if not of the writing, minstrel shows were the norm. They were seen as harmless fun. Even by the population being mocked.
All of these facts add up to one thing: By the standards of the time and place in which she lived, Laura was no racist. It is unfair to label her thus, even by implication.
Erasing the past is less of a threat. Laura is a beloved author, after all, and thinking parents know how to read these stories to the little ones and discuss the issues involved. I've been doing just that since the 1980s. Even "people thought it was a big deal back then" is sometimes sufficient.
It's the right of the award committee to change the name. I don't agree with their reasoning but I'll defend them. I will not, however, allow out-of-context quotes to demean a good woman. I will not pretend the bad parts of history never happened.
