Co-Workers Who Think AG is Racist..... Need Help!

[supermonkey081]

Please bear with me through the back story..... BUT if you dont want to scroll down to the bold line that says "So here is where I need help."

Last month I was hired to work at the American Girl Place that will be opening in LA in April. When my Co-Workers at my current job found out about this I was surprised to find out that none of the Southern California natives had never even heard of the company.

More recently one of them learned that Addy, who we all know is the only African-American character doll, was a slave. Needless to say more than a few people were extremely upset about this. Today I spent the whole day fighting for AG and Addy when they all were telling me it was wrong to have this girl be a slave. I told them she ESCAPED slavery and that all the girls represent female empowerment. They said to me "Why would I want to buy my little black girl a doll who was a slave? What is that saying to her?" One of my managers had even spoken to her father, who I was told was very into African-American empowerment, and was telling me that she was ready to form a protest group to stand outside of the store when they opened.

I spent my whole shift fighting for Addy and was called a racist all night. I am not and cant even imagine myself a racist.

My manager who wanted to form a protest is giving me an opportunity to change her mind which I am going to put a lot of energy into. I plan on making her a binder about Addy, including summaries of her six stories, pictures (the think she is sold in tattered clothing), news articles highlighting the Pros AND Cons (I dont wanna seem too one-sided) about slavery being represented by Addy, and anything else I can add to the mix.

So here is where I need help.

- I'm having a hard time finding anything actually comparing the pros and cons of Addy being a slave. If anyone wants to give me their own list or a link to a list that would be great!

- It's hard finding articles saying bad things about Addy, if anyone knows any please post or link.

- ANY personal opinions on my story would be greatly appreciated. I think the whole situation is very sad and I only had so many things to say for myself before I needed to step aside and just wait for them to read my presentation.

- Also..... I asked them two questions, the second of which they couldn't find an answer to, so if anyone could share their answers to the following it would be great!
1: If slavery in America was represented by a white girl who owned a slave would that be any better?
2: If there wasnt an African-American Character doll surely that would bring up some controversy also. So assuming there must be an African-American girl, can you tell me what other significant event in American History that can be represented by an 9-year-old little girl?

- Maybe some answers to their question: "Why would I want to buy my little black girl a doll who was a slave? What is that saying to her?"

- Please also share any thoughts, opinions, experiences, or stories you have about Addy whether it relates to something personal or something having to do with this situation.

Any feedback would be great. I want to personally thank each and every person who responds! I'm having a hard time with this and I really hope I can open up a few peoples eyes to how amazing these girls really are.

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!

[FelinaDoon]

I think Praslrd is the best choice to help with this, but in my view;

Addy's stories show the strength of Family. The will to have and continue to have Freedom at any cost. The Horrors of Slavery at a level that children can understand.

Another period in time might be the equal rights movement and desegregation of schools. I would think that would be another time historically that would be good for an AA historical - I can see a little 3rd grader going to an all white school for the first time. Their terror of it and the strength that these kids have/had is beyond my comprehension.

I think it is important that AG comes out with another Historical Character that is African American, but I think that in Addy they show a very important time that WE NEVER EVER EVER want to make the mistake of copying. I am white and through her stories I am teaching my own daughter understanding of other cultures

Please correct me if I have said or stated something incorrectly here. I could probably better answer about NINA and the Irish discrimination that occurred

<font color="#33CCCC" size="1">[ March 22, 2006 07:20 AM: Message edited by: FelinaDoon ]</font>

[FelinaDoon]

By the Way - Congrats on the Job - I am jealous

[MissCurlyCat]

OMG, the people you work with sound horrible! (Tell them I said that too!)

What makes them think these books/ dolls are all about female empowerment? Females had to work very hard to have all of the rights they have today (I think you should dedicate a page or two in your portfolio to womens history)

Addy was running away from slavery and did a very bold and courageous thing for slaves back then. Do you know what would have happened if Addy and her mother would have been caught? Well, it wouldn't be pretty, that's for sure!!!! In addition to that, Addy left her baby brother behind with her other relatives, and most likely would never ever see them again.

Addy had a hard life too. All slaves had a hard life. Can you imagine what it would be like to have your father and brother sold to some other cruel slave master? Your family wouldn't ever see each other again. After the war ended though, many broken up salve families were reunited.

But even after the war ended racism was still in the air. Sure, slavery was gone, but that didn't mean people had to give African Americans jobs, or treat them as good as a white person.

I think this could get a little controversial, so I would be cautious of what I say on this board.

ETA: IF I HAVE SAID SOMETHING WRONG PLEASE LET ME KNOW AND I WILL DELETE MY POST!

<font color="#33CCCC" size="1">[ March 22, 2006 07:27 AM: Message edited by: MissCurlyCat ]</font>

[Ashley1972]

I don't feel that AG is racist, however, my AA friend Christine at work will not buy this doll for her daughter because she was a slave doll and represents a lot of controversy. Her viewpoint is that she doesn't want to listen to anyone start in on the why do you have that doll when it was a slave doll. She said what happened then was a long time ago and people need to let it go. She hates it when anyone brings up this subject and picks her friends on what interests they have in common not by their skin color. She said ignorant people come in all different colors. I can see why someone would be offended by buying a slave doll but I see Addy as being a courageous girl and AG portrays her as such. This controversy is why I don't think she will ever get a movie. Mods feel free to delete or edit this if I got too deep.

[likewow]

Wow, this makes me really mad - less because of the negativity towards AG and more because of the way YOU are being treated. Honestly, it sounds like this is nothing more than a power trip for your manager. I don't think she really cares about learning about AG/Addy. The burden of proof is not on you to prove that AG is not racist, but on those who made the allegations. Personally, if someone said that to me I would laugh at them and say, "Try telling that to the hundreds of thousands of mothers, daughters, and collectors - black, white, and everything in between who have loved and learned from Addy over the past decade." It sounds to me like you are dealing with the kind of people who think that the mere mention of racially-charged events, or even worse, mention of the differences between races and cultures, is somehow automatically racist. I'm guessing these people are white. Wait until your manager tries to organize this "protest" and can't find any people of color who agree with her.

Bottom line: if I were in your position I would just ignore my ignorant co-workers and be grateful I was moving on soon. On that note, big congratulations on your new job at AGPLA!

<font color="#33CCCC" size="1">[ March 22, 2006 10:10 AM: Message edited by: likewow ]</font>

[MissCurlyCat]

Originally posted by likewow:
Wow, this makes me really mad - less because of the negativity towards AG and more because of the way YOU are being treated. Honestly, it sounds like this is nothing more than a power trip for your manager. I don't think she really cares about learning about AG/Addy. The burden of proof is not on you to prove that AG is racist, but on those who made the allegations. Personally, if someone said that to me I would laugh at them and say, "Try telling that to the hundreds of thousands of mothers, daughters, and collectors - black, white, and everything in between who have loved and learned from Addy over the past decade." It sounds to me like you are dealing with the kind of people who think that the mere mention of racially-charged events, or even worse, mention of the differences between races and cultures, is somehow automatically racist. I'm guessing these people are white. Wait until your manager tries to organize this "protest" and can't find any people of color who agree with her.

Bottom line: if I were in your position I would just ignore my ignorant co-workers and be grateful I was moving on soon. On that note, big congratulations on your new job at AGPLA!

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Well said!!!! [img]smile.gif[/img] I really would like to see them try to protest AG! They would fail so miserably......

[Bean Bunny]

My mind is blown. By the end of the book, Addy's not even a slave any more! How can they even say she's a slave doll when she's clearly not?

You need to PM Nethillia. I promise you she'll have more resources than you could ever hope to see on this topic. If I recall, she likes to study history and the Civil War era and African American history is a specialty of hers.

Also, if they understand that they couldn't have used a caucasian doll for that era, point out that the only other option probably would have been to leave that era out. Should we ignore slavery, then, completley? And what happens when we ignore it? (It repeats.)

<font color="#33CCCC" size="1">[ March 22, 2006 07:58 AM: Message edited by: Bean Bunny ]</font>

[auri]

So there are people ready to go demonstrate in front of AGPLA because they've heard Addy is a slave? They don't actually know anything about her and they can't be bothered to educate themselves but they're ready to hit the pavement, cause a scene and just maybe get themselves on TV. Did I get that right?

Talk about stupid.

You can jump through all the hoops you want but the chance of enlightening people so stone ignorant and proud of it is pretty much non-existent. Good luck.

On a happier note, congrats on the fabulous job! Enjoy it and let the rest go.

[dianasmama]

personally, I would send a short request to AG Customer Service, asking them how they would handle the situation. It also gives them a little heads up [img]wink.gif[/img]

I really don't think it's up to you to convince them to change their minds. I think they need to read the Addy stories themselves.

As for not buying a little AA girl an Addy doll, many white girls love the Addy dolls as well. Long before AG ever existed, my mother had a little AA baby doll back in the 30's that she loved dearly.

Laurie