Dear Editor,
Golliwogs article: You’ve got to be kidding! These dolls not racist! If you think they aren’t then you’ve been living under a rock for many years. Just read this quote and maybe you’ll understand. ” Gerry German, of the Working Group Against Racism in Children’s Resources, was quoted as saying: “I find it appalling that any organization in this day and age can produce anything which would commemorate the golliwog. It is an offensive caricature of black people”
“The Golliwog was created during a racist era. There is little doubt that the words associated with Golliwog — Golly, Golli, Wog, and Golliwog, itself — are often used as racial slurs.”
“Let’s get one thing clear from the off: the term golliwog is offensive. Whether you use it public, in private, on air, or in the green room, no one in their right mind cannot be aware that this is a derogatory term to describe black people,” she wrote in The Guardian.
“But unless you have been spat at, kicked or had eggs thrown at you, all while being called that hateful term, it is unlikely you will ever understand why a small doll causes such a big fuss.” I rest my case.
Judith Polston, Langley