The most perceptive post I've read on this thread.
You're right.
I read the book many years ago...and I liked it. But I do remember racial slurs.
Alrighty then. I read the book years ago too, but the difference between you and I is that I don't remember the racial slurs. I remember the beautiful story, and I took away from it valuable lessons that are still with me today. I don't know what it was in your life that caused you to only remember a few words (racial slurs) rather than the wonderful, heartwarming story that it was. Perhaps that's something you could think about.
Children are not that fragile. If I was the parent of the child referred to in this thread, I would have gotten involved in reading the story with my child. I would have let them know the history of the writer, the times they lived in, and how beautiful the story was....and how it may have changed so many people's perceptions in a good way.
Sheltering our children from history isn't in their best interest, IMHO.