The Italian fashion house Prada has announced the elimination of a red-lipped wooden keychain from sale. This decision stems from Prada’s accusations of using the racist caricature of Black Sambo. We will try to figure out another controversial PR campaign of the fashion house.
Racism in the H&M Advertising Campaign
For the second time in 2018, the fashion industry has shocked the world with its sloppiness in using the image of a monkey. In January, the H&M retail fashion chain came under fire because it published on the Internet a photograph of a black model boy wearing a Coolest monkey in the jungle print shirt (The Coolest Monkey in the Jungle). H&M later apologized for the abusive publication. So what is the connection between monkey and racism?
"Black Sambo" - a collective image of a black man in American culture, was used in cartoons, TV shows and humorous shows in an offensive tone for the black population of America. The derogatory use of the caricature of a black man, who behaved more like a monkey with his behavior, speech, and actions, inflamed racist sentiments and dehumanized this category of the American population, representing them as "slaves."
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History of racism
Racism as an extreme form of manifestation of ignorance and inhumanity developed in the world in the Middle Ages. According to historians, “Christian tradition in those days defined“ anthropoid apes ”as“ carriers of lust and devilry. ”Ignorance generated by such ideas led to racial stereotypes. When the influential French philosopher Jean Boden described the African continent as a“ monster nursery in the 17th century ” arising from the intercourse of man and animal - racism is rooted in the minds of people for many centuries.
The representation of dark-skinned as second-class people very soon migrated from "enlightened circles" to the masses. The image of "Black Sambo" and similar ones began to be actively exploited in popular culture. Thanks to such images, the idea of black people arose as stupid, forever smiling, slow and timid slaves. Sambo has become a fun decoration on the buildings of restaurants, hotels and even churches! Million copies of Sambo mascots were sold every year.
