Dark history
I found a tube of "Darlie" toothpaste recently at a Chinatown market. I've never before noticed it for sale in the U.S., but it always makes an impression when I see it in Asia.
Here's why: Not all that long ago, "Darlie" was called "Darkie." In Chinese, the characters did -- and still do -- say "black man toothpaste." (I've got a tube of the original stuff hidden away somewhere, but here's a photo of the older and even more problematic packaging.)
A historical summary from the Wikipedia:
Darlie (Traditional Chinese: 黑人) is a toothpaste brand of the Hong Kong based company Hawley & Hazel. It was bought in 1985 by the US corporation Colgate-Palmolive. At that time the original name was "Darkie". The package showed a smiling image of a man in blackface who looked like Al Jolson. Due to pressure from US minority groups the name was changed to Darlie soon after the merger. The toothpaste is very popular in Asian countries, for instance in Taiwan, where the translation of the name remains "Dark Man Toothpaste" (黑人牙膏).
Dark history
I found a tube of "Darlie" toothpaste recently at a Chinatown market. I've never before noticed it for sale in the U.S., but it always makes an impression when I see it in Asia.
Here's why: Not all that long ago, "Darlie" was called "Darkie." In Chinese, the characters did -- and still do -- say "black man toothpaste." (I've got a tube of the original stuff hidden away somewhere, but here's a photo of the older and even more problematic packaging.)
A historical summary from the Wikipedia:
Darlie (Traditional Chinese: 黑人) is a toothpaste brand of the Hong Kong based company Hawley & Hazel. It was bought in 1985 by the US corporation Colgate-Palmolive. At that time the original name was "Darkie". The package showed a smiling image of a man in blackface who looked like Al Jolson. Due to pressure from US minority groups the name was changed to Darlie soon after the merger. The toothpaste is very popular in Asian countries, for instance in Taiwan, where the translation of the name remains "Dark Man Toothpaste" (黑人牙膏).