It appears that by "late great" you mean "disgusting pig-ignorant bigoted lump of shit". (From the CV in his obituary he appears to have been something small-time in the CIA).

BTW I don't know what this comment from InOBU meant:

Little Black Sambo is about tigers and pancakes.

The original Anglo-Indian book (with Bannerman's own illustrations) is in no way racist and that comment fits it literally. The American adaptation of it is white supremacist filth. There are TWO DIFFERENT BOOKS involved, and virtually nobody on either side of the Atlantic will ever have seen the version known on the other. (I've seen many copies of Bannerman's original but only know the American one via scans on the web).