How America Normalized Racism: The Golliwog
In 1895 a 22 year old Florence Kate Upton found a random doll int he attic of of her aunt's attic. It was a battered doll in blackface that eventually led to her children's book "The Adventures of Two Dutch Dolls and the GolliWog. This children book would become a popular hit.
A Black doll with black hair, red lips white eyes and appears like many images that you see with it relates to blackface.
The toy was everywhere and spread like wildfire across the UK.
In 1903, James Robertsons and sons, known in the UK for their preservatives saw the Golliwog and incorporated the image into their own brand. This branding continued up until 2001 when the company died, however the image of the Golliwog was still continued.
You may be asking yourself, how ia this relevant and how does it affect me today?
Great queation.
In 1915, Johnny Gruelle tool inspiration for a new doll that he was creating that was partially inspired by Fred Stone who was a blackface star, but mostly inspired by golliwog dolls. Every single one. The Raggedy Ann that you owned may have been the biggest tie-in to golliwogs than you think.