The tiger is dead
Posted on 06/07/2020 3:41:06 PM PDT by thecodont
The only remaining location of a historic breakfast chain in Santa Barbara is changing its name after thousands of people petitioned against its use of a racial epithet.
The owners of Sambo's on W. Cabrillo Blvd. haven't decided on a new name yet, but agreed that it was time for the 63-year-old restaurant to take action amid nationwide protests against police brutality and widespread racism. On Thursday, staff began to temporarily cover the bubble-lettered sign with symbols demonstrating peace and love.
"Our family has looked into our hearts and realize that we must be sensitive when others whom we respect make a strong appeal. So today we stand in solidarity with those seeking change and doing our part as best we can," Chad and Michelle Stevens wrote in a joint statement on the restaurant's Facebook page.
When the restaurant was established in 1957, founders Sam Battistone — Chad's grandfather — and Newell Bohnett chose the title because it combined the first three letters of Battistone's name and the last two of Bohnett's. The term is a derogatory slur against black and indigenous people, and the decision forced several locations to close or rename throughout the 1980s, according to the Santa Barbara Independent. Still, for decades, the walls of Sambo's restaurants nationwide were adorned with painted imagery associated with "The Story of Little Black Sambo," a children's book written by Helen Bannerman in 1899 that became controversial for its depictions of racial stereotypes.
"Thank you for taking initiative and hearing the community's outcry," wrote Yvonne Garcia on Facebook. "I have close family members who have been offended by this name since I was a kid."
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Change it to Django’s.
Nooooooooo, SAY IT AIN’T SO. It’s been years since we ate there. LEAVE SAMBO ALONE!
I hope they’re still serving their famous Tiger Butter.
And he was Indian.
I didn’t know their were any Sambo’s left. Haven’t been to one since some time in the 60’s I think.
It's taken them this long to realize that?
Little Black Sambo was a South Asian, not an African...
Comment at the article: “Eat at Floyd’s.”
My family frequently went to Sambo’s when we were kids. It was a good family restaurant with reasonable prices.
The writer of the article admits that the restaurant name was a portmanteau of the owners’ names.
Nowhere in the article does it mention that the Sambo mascot of the restaurant was, in all depictions, an Indian child. Not black.
I read the story of “Little Black Sambo” as a child. Sambo in that story was an African. I didn’t see it as racist, it was a story of a clever little boy who outwitted some hungry tigers and turned them into butter for pancakes.
It’s a name that has negative equity. I’m surprised it took so long for the owners to be forced to change it.
The last one I remember was in the late 70’s.
What about Cracker Barrel? I suddenly find myself offended and disrespected...and hungry...
“The Story of Little Black Sambo,” a children’s book written by Helen Bannerman in 1899 that became controversial for its depictions of racial stereotypes.
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File this story under “ignorance is strength”. The story has racial stereotypes? Like what? A young boy who outwits a tiger and gets the tiger to run in circles until he melts into butter which the boy then puts on pancakes. What is the racial stereotype? The pancake? The tiger? The kid who outwits him?
I ate breafast at that Sambo’s in 1970. I wanted to eat there again on my next visit to Santa Barbara, but if they’re going to bow to the mob, I’ll pass.
The Sambo’s on 6th Street in the Wilshire District of Los Angeles had excellent service. If you ordered coffee, a waitress would be on hand to refill your cup before you could finish empty it.
How about “Whitey’s Food’s Alrighty?”
ROFL!
Never thought about it!!
Dang. Now I’m hungry too.
Right! That was a smart little boy. What's racist about that?
These protestors impress me as not being very well read.
It took people 63 years to get upset? They must be a special type of stupid.
Change it to Panders. :-)
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