Morning Nation! Question: Is there such thing as a racist piece of art? How about racist clothing A cartoon? Among the endless abyss of movie shorts, home videos and soldier boy dances on YouTube lies 11 Warner Brothers cartoons that were deemed “racially offensive” by the the WB and have not been shown in an authorized release since 1968. In a recent article for the The New York Times, Daniel E. Slotnik takes a look at how the videos got there and for how long they’ll stay.

Although some of the cartoons, known as the “Censored 11,” were removed on April 16 many still remain. Representatives for YouTube and Warner would not confirm whether the companies had tried to remove the cartoons. The most infamous of the lot is “Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs,” a parody of “Snow White.”

Richard McIntire, the director of communications for the N.A.A.C.P. says “the cartoons are despicable. We encourage the films’ owners to maintain them as they are - that is, locked away in their vaults.”

WMAV01, an unidentified YouTube client who posted some of the content explained that “these cartoons were never officially ‘banned’ by any law” and added that the cartoons had “historical value.”

I won’t spoil the entire article for you. It’s definately worth checking out. The New York Times rarely disappoints. The question is should we be mad about these cartoons that were created some 70 years ago? Should we even be outraged that they’re being exhumed on YouTube today or does WMAV01’s claim that they bare historical significance hold weight?

Personally I’m inclined to think that this country was founded on the backs of slaves and racism. If we dig up ancient time capsules of all sorts I’m sure we’ll find all kinds of sights and sounds we consider appalling today. Watching these incredible stereotypes makes me furious but after my anger is replaced by laughter as I realized how silly the PUBLIC depiction of us a race was (and probably is by some.)