Why Classics Matter

Over the past few years, I've been reading the Laura Ingalls books with my children. We go faster in the summer months and then slow down during the school year, so it's taking us a while. But we're nearing the end. Only a couple more books to go.
I've thoroughly enjoyed getting to revisit all these tales my mom read to my sister and me when we were growing up. But I also forgot a lot of things that were included in these books.
They seem like simple, innocent little stories at first glance. After all, they're about a little girl growing up out on the prairie, right?
Yes. But what you might not realize/remember is that back then, they saw some things a bit differently than we do today.

What am I talking about? Well, there are lots of stereotypes and prejudices mentioned in these books. And we need to remember these are Laura's recollections about her real life. This really happened. And this is the way people thought back then. Like, how they viewed Native Americans. Or Black people. Or certain jobs. Or certain areas.
In the book we were reading not too long ago, we read a scene where several men dressed up in "black face" paint to perform. My kids had no idea what that was so it led to a whole discussion about why people did that and why we don't do things like that today. Needless to say, they both thought it was a horrible idea. Very mean.
But if we hadn't read something like that, would they have known about it? Possibly, but maybe not in such a circumstance where we could talk it through.
Our society has spent so much time lately covering up the past, the history, the way things really were, in hopes of forgetting it. But sometimes, it's more powerful to remember those things. Because then we can have discussions and figure out better ways to behave now. To learn from what people did back then and do even better now.
Besides, there are tons of wonderful things in the Laura books too. And if we stopped reading them simply because of those few little stereotypes and prejudices, we'd miss out on so much of the other stuff too. And I refuse to do that. Instead, I'll keep introducing my children to classics, to books that might not look at the world the same way we do, and to make sure that we're having discussions and talking through the hard parts. It's worth it to me.
What about you? Have you ever re-read something you read when younger and discovered a part you didn't remember being there? Do you read classics with your children and make sure they understand the bad stuff and why it's not okay? How do you deal with situations like this?