What’s behind the Golliwog?
“I wonder if we will ever transgress racial boundaries that have imprisoned us all or once again come face-to-face with incidents of transnational expressions of racism eternalized in seemingly innocuous childhood toys”.
Golliwog doll, Little Black Sambo, the Inki cartoon character, and countless others….while they all have different names, many contend that their “not so” hidden meaning links each of these pieces of historic memorabilia to a past that some say is dehumanizing racist propaganda. Utilized to induce and spread fear about people of African descent among white communities, various objects containing racist stereotypical imagery of people of African descent advanced their mission of legalized subjugation, most notably during the period of lawful racial segregation. While these relics are reminiscent of an era dripping with legalized oppression, one can’t help but wonder why these highly controversial items are still so prevalent in our assumed modernized and “racially transgressed” society.
Extending as far back as the mid-1800s, dolls, books, salt shakers, ceramics and other typically innocuous items containing exaggerated and stereotypical images of “Blacks” began to rapidly emerge in retail stores and shops in countries around the world, including London and other parts of the UK, Australia and the United States. During this era, overt racist acts towards people of African descent (i.e. physical brutality and verbal degradation) were not uncommon. Hence, the creation of these racially-charged items further upheld the racist actions and institutionalization of multi-level subjugation towards those communities of direct African descent. Over the years, xenophobic views regarding “Blacks” were tangibly encapsulated in diverse objects from “Mammy saltshakers,” to advertisements for “Nigger Milk,” and even items for children, such as the Golliwog Doll and the well-known children’s book “Ten Little Niggers”.
With the passing of global anti-racist legislation and the socio-political demands of civil rights groups, many of the “artifacts” depicting demeaning characteristics of people of African descent were removed from mainstream retail areas. In the 1960s, numerous civil rights groups, as well as the Camden Committee for Community Relations and The National Committee on Racism in Children’s Books led campaigns against the British manufacturing company, James Robertson & Sons for their flagrant use of the Golliwog image on their products. Despite the company’s continued use of the racially insensitive and controversial emblem, other items with the Golliwog Doll figure were quickly eliminated from public areas: books were removed from public libraries and the industrialization of the Golliwog dolls significantly dwindled. As a result of the Anti-Golliwog campaigns and petitions to ban all products containing the racist caricature, numerous political leaders of the British parliament publicly rebuked the image as racist!
Given the support of high-level political leaders, in addition to the community activist work of civil rights groups to outlaw the Golliwog Doll in the UK [and other racist products throughout the world], one would not expect these controversial and widely viewed racially oppressive items to re-emerge in mainstream society. Nevertheless, just as periods of economic crises are recurring, so is the nature of racism and how it is expressed. As recently as August of this year, Golliwog Dolls were spotted for sale at an Airport in Auckland, New Zealand by famous Rapper Big Boi from the group Outkast. After Tweeting a picture of the dolls and expressing his anger regarding their financial promotion, the Golliwog Dolls were banned from retail stores in the Auckland Airport. In December of 2010, before taking her eight-day tour of Australia, Oprah Winfrey’s production company urged Dafel Dolls and Bears, a doll shop in Melbourne, to remove the dolls from display to avoid offending Ms. Winfrey. Initially refusing to remove these historically racist items from their shelves, the owners of the shop withdrew them as to avoid any further controversy from Oprah’s camp.
Rosemarie O’Donnell filed a racial harassment report against her neighbor, 65 year old Jena Mason, for her display of a Golliwog Doll in her window. O’Donnell stated that the presence of the doll offended her family due to its racist past. Mason contended that she never displayed the doll to cause a racially aggravated attack towards her neighbor and their family. Alas, despite the insult and shock felt by Mrs. O’Donnell and her family resulting from the Golliwog doll display, law enforcement officials dropped the charges against Mason declaring, “the evidence is insufficient and there is not a realistic prospect of conviction.”
With all of the unlimited resources containing the historical connection to racist stereotypes and the ensuing socio-political struggle to prohibit the vast collection of racist memorabilia, the question that emerges to the forefront of my mind is “why do retail stores and manufacturing companies continue to produce such controversial products and moreover, why do some consumers continue to purchase them? Well in the case of Jena Mason, as well as the owners of Dafel Dolls and Bears, their sentiment is that the Golliwog Dolls bring forth “happy” memories from their childhood and are “just toys!”
This racial laissez-faire attitude regarding these dolls and other tangible expressions of racist ideology is one that is quite emblematic of entitled groups, (i.e. whites,) as in the case of heterosexuals’ collective detached concerns regarding the oppressed experiences of the LGBT community. Never being on the receiving end of perverse and incessant tyranny due to global Westernized ideology, many individuals of direct European descent hold the “just a toy” mentality when it comes to matters of racism towards people of direct African descent. It’s interesting to note that other groups, like the Jewish community, have also been depicted in racist caricature. Still, the racist “memorabilia” and obscene cartooning of people of African Descent across the globe far exceeds that of any other group in history, as stated by David Pilgrim, the Curator of the Jim Crow Museum in Big Rapids, Michigan. Even the fact that the majority of the citizens in the United States elected a president of African descent whose campaign and ideals represent an era of change and revolution could not cease the venomous nature of racism which has consistently caricatured President Barack Obama as a monkey, a notorious symbol used to dehumanize and equate people of African descent with the animalistic character of primates.
As many historians and scholars in the fields of Afrocentricty, Africana and Black studies, as well as the social constructions of race have identified, the historic racist ideologies towards people of African descent have not remained as relics of a shameful past. They are instead ubiquitous fundamental entities that guide policies, places of residence, access to quality health care and education, and social actions and treatment towards people of direct African descent across the world. This explains the reason why consumers and producers of racist items, such as the Golliwog Doll continue to invest in this profitable cycle of racist oppression.
Many state that “change” takes time and it appears to take even longer when discussing serious matters, like racism and any other form of oppression. Simultaneously, numerous individuals, politicians, and social justice organizations (i.e. the NAACP,) contend that there have been great strides towards equality and that each year, there is a significant decline in racism against global people of African Descent even in spite of the relentless occurrences of racial prejudice, hate crimes, and legalized bigotry. I wonder if we will ever transgress racial boundaries that have imprisoned us all or once again come face-to-face with incidents of transnational expressions of racism eternalized in seemingly innocuous childhood toys.
To read the recent story which instigated this comment, click here.
By Jamekaa Flowers
US-based Lady J’s lifelong passions include deconstructing the numerous “isms” (i.e. sexism, racism, classism, etc.) that plague society, while challenging people to think critically about how they are both affected by and affect others with these worldwide maladies. I Am We! Visit her Blog at http://imtyedsooverit.blogspot.com/
Ms Flowers keep up the good work just recently i wrote an artical about racism and the justice system and the instrutor told me i need to write about something else
So, whenever I hear about these dolls I always think of the movie “Bamboozled”. Jim Crow laws have disappeared, but there are still plenty of minstrel shows to perpetuate these negative stereotypes. Just turn on BET, VH1, or Bravo and there they are giving us a good “show”. So as archaic as these Golliwogs may be, it seems they may still be popular because hey if minstrel shows are making a come back why not? It’s pretty sad. Contrary to some people’s belief, not only would most Black folk be offended by the display of these dolls, but we are also and equally embarrassed daily by people who voluntarily sign up to be exploited. These two things are so very much connected, Thanks for speaking on the dolls, so people might also start thinking about other ways our image is being abused.
Thank you so much for an extremely insightful article that brings acute attention to just how disgusting & pervasive racism is & just how, like cancer, it permeates throughout all aspects of our lives, even toys. Hopefully with ongoing education, like what you’ve provided in this article, we will all be better equipped with the proper tools necessary to totally eliminate racism & all of its attachments from existence. I look forward to more informative posts from you.
Once again … Spectacular, my dear. Uncovering the MESS!