Doctor Grandma

Dolls now pulled from the shelves at Costco after complaints they were racist, these dolls were called “CUDDLE ME BABY DOLL”.

The white doll was named “Pretty Panda” — the black doll was dubbed “LIL’ MONKEY”.

Teaching sociology, race class and gender, I can always count on some new story in the news to talk about in class. This summer there has been a multitude of stories. Two main ones that stand out are the arrest of Henry Louis Gates (see other stories in this blog about that) — and now, just before school begins, the “Lil’ Monkey” doll from Costco. Priceless for class discussion!! I usually show the black Barbie doll that came out and was taken off the shelves — the one titled “Miss Oreo”. She came with her own bag of oreo cookies.

What is astounding about these items for sale is the blatant disregard for our HISTORY of rampant racism in the US. Let’s say that the manufacturers were totally ignorant. Let’s just say, they had no racist intention. Then how could this marketing technique MISS the blatant historical link to racism in US history? How could that be missed altogether?

Can you imagine a meeting at the large, expensive, red wood table in the board room where these toys were introduced? Was there a black face in the crowd? And why would it have to be a black face? How can we as white people be so ignorant to not know the repercussions of these toys?? Does anyone care? Or was it a blatant racist attack to portray, once again, as was done for real in our past, that black people are closer to the animal, so it is okay to treat them like animals. So-called scientists of the 1800s did test after test to try to PROVE this “scientific” reality. The tests didn’t work. Does anyone know that at the World Fair in the late 1800s, real people were placed into exhibitions that portrayed them as “savage”, “barbaric” or “civilized”. When we entered or invaded the Phillippines, depending on your politics, the Phillippine people were literally drawn with African features in newspapers back in the old 48. African and Indian peoples were protrayed with animal-like features. It is a long, sad history and we need to be aware of it.

It doesn’t really matter if the individual people are RACIST. Good Lord, with the history of our country, how can we not have racist undertones to our business practices?? What matters is the CAPACITY, for board members to blatantly DISREGARD the implied meaning to the names GIVEN to these dolls, that differ by color. There is NO excuse! The same with the arrest of Dr. Gates, please do not waste my time worrying about whether or not an INDIVIDUAL police officer is racist or not. That is not the point, and we do not even care. The point is, there is no excuse for treating people of color one way, and white people another way, and we can NO LONGER AFFORD to ignore our own history. If Dr. Gates had been an older, white man walking with a cane, I do not believe he would have been treated the way he was treated, and pulled into the station in handcuffs. I just do not see that happening. He did not break any laws, he was just ticked off and yelling, and the officer refused to even state his name and badge number.

I continually, in class, bring up stories from American history, meaning black American history, that my students do not know. There is no excuse for that. If we are to be the “UNITED” States of America, then we must know and become familiar with the history of ALL its peoples. And that history is unique to each group, according to race and ethnicity. The Irish filled a certain spot in the American work world. They worked in industry and they worked on the railroad. Knowing your grandpa’s occupation gives you a hint or clue about his ethnicity. We KNOW this. It is easy to learn. There is no longer any LAME EXCUSE for not knowing our history, as a nation.

To Costco: Do you really think that your manufacturers would have made and sold these dolls with the names exchanged? I do not think so. The black doll would not have been “Pretty Panda” and the White doll “Little MONKEY”. That just wouldn’t happen. To create these dolls with different names for different colors was totally unnecessary and offensive. Do not make stupid excuses for yourselves. Have you ever heard of the psychological experiment where young  black children always choose the white doll, saying it is “better”? Look it up.

to the Barbie company: an “oreo” in the black community is known as someone who is black on the outside, WHITE on the inside. It is an insulting term. Though the term in itself is insulting, there is no excuse for making a black Barbie doll by that name, and you should have known it would BOMB.

Before we can come together, we need to recognize our different histories and experiences that we bring to the table of unity. It is unity in DIVERSITY. Diverse peoples uniting is the REAL strength. And we are not yet there in America, or in the world. We have no idea what unity in diversity looks like.

“The diversity in the human family should be the cause of love and harmony, as it is in music where many different notes blend together in the making of a perfect chord. If you meet those of different race and colour from yourself, do not mistrust them and withdraw yourself into your shell of conventionality, but rather be glad and show them kindness. Think of them as different coloured roses growing in the beautiful garden of humanity, and rejoice to be among them.”   (Abdu’l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 53)

“Know ye not why We created you all from the same dust? That no one should exalt himself over the other. Ponder at all times in your hearts how ye were created. Since We have created you all from one same substance it is incumbent on you to be even as one soul, to walk with the same feet, eat with the same mouth and dwell in the same land, that from your inmost being, by your deeds and actions, the signs of oneness and the essence of detachment may be made manifest.”   (Baha’u’llah, The Arabic Hidden Words)

This entry was posted on August 18, 2009 at 10:22 am and is filed under stories in the news. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.