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Amy-Strange

(854 posts)
Tue Jun 9, 2020, 08:13 PM Jun 2020

This Restaurant Is Changing Its Name After The Community Pointed Out That It's Actually A Racial Slu

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This Restaurant Is Changing Its Name After The Community Pointed Out That It's Actually A Racial Slur

A California restaurant is changing its name after community members pointed out the historical meaning behind it. Sambo's, a Santa Barbara, CA, pancake house, has replaced its sign with a message of peace and love while they decide on a new name.

According to CNN, the name "Sambo's" came from a combination of the two founders' names, Sam Battistone and Newell "Bo" Bohnett. Although it wasn't seemingly the original intent, the name term "sambo" has a racially charged past. The word was used as a stereotypical name for African-Americans in the book Uncle Tom's Cabin, although this connotation dates back to the 1700s. Today, the term is considered a slur for Black individuals.

A resident of the area, Rashelle Monet, brought up the issue to Chad Stevens, the current owner and grandson of the founder, KEYT reported. "Even though it didn't come from a bad place, it is still a very hurtful term for a lot of people," Monet told the outlet. "I understand it wasn't intentional. I am not saying that Sambo's and the owners are racist. I am saying the slur is racist."


https://www.msn.com/en-us/foodanddrink/foodnews/this-restaurant-is-changing-its-name-after-the-community-pointed-out-that-its-actually-a-racial-slur/ar-BB15cJmy?ocid=spartanntp
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lunasun

(21,646 posts)
2. Don't know why they would have to point it out to them since it was a chain and all the others knew
Tue Jun 9, 2020, 08:29 PM
Jun 2020

in the 70s and 80s . Seems more like a hold out by the Santa Barbara owners not to change years ago when other parts of the chain tried alternate less offensive names and they did not
Wiki
Coincidentally, a popular US restaurant chain of the 1950s through 1970s, Sambo's, borrowed characters from the book (including Sambo and the tigers) for promotional purposes, although the Sambo name was originally a portmanteau of the founders' names and nicknames: Sam (Sam Battistone) and Bo (Newell Bohnett).[22] For a period in the late 1970s, some locations were renamed "The Jolly Tiger".
Nonetheless, the controversy about the book led to accusations of racism that contributed to the 1,117-restaurant[23] chain's demise in the early 1980s.[22] Images inspired by the book (now considered by some racially insensitive) were common interior decorations in the restaurants.[24]
Though portions of the original chain were renamed No Place Like Sam's to try to forestall closure,[23] all but the original restaurants in Santa Barbara, California, had closed by 1983.

The original location still existed in Santa Barbara under the name Sambo's until June 2020.[25]
The name on the original Sambo's sign was temporarily changed to the motto, "Peace (the symbol) & LOVE" due to pressure from the Black Lives Matter group, and a separate signature drive that collected thousands of signatures. A new name may be chosen at a later date.[26]
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_Little_Black_Sambo#Controversy

Arkansas Granny

(31,484 posts)
3. The name "Sambo's" has been a bone of contention for years. There's no way they were unaware.
Tue Jun 9, 2020, 08:29 PM
Jun 2020

I didn't know any of those restaurants were still open.

Docreed2003

(16,817 posts)
5. Absolute BS that they "didn't know"
Tue Jun 9, 2020, 08:31 PM
Jun 2020

It's a freaking pancake house too...if you've ever read the "Little Black Sambo" book you'll understand the reference. Zero chance they didn't know.

subterranean

(3,427 posts)
7. You're right -- they've been getting complaints about it for many years.
Tue Jun 9, 2020, 09:42 PM
Jun 2020

The article makes it sound like this is the first time the current owner became aware of the controversy, but he was quoted in a different article (from 2017) acknowledging the complaints in a 2014 interview:

"We do get the occasional complaint. They want us to know the controversy of the name. And yet for every complaint, there are about 1,000 people who say, ‘Wow, I can't believe it’s still here’ — or ‘Open another one in our town.’"


So yeah...zero chance he didn't know about it before.

https://www.kcet.org/food-living/the-troubling-history-of-sambos-pancake-house

captain queeg

(10,036 posts)
6. There used to be a chain named Sambo's
Tue Jun 9, 2020, 08:37 PM
Jun 2020

As I remember it was a pancake house and I thought it took its name from an old kids story, though I’m not sure how old the story was or in what light it was told, but there was something about a couple tigers that chased each other In a circle till they melted down into butter or syrup or something? But yeah I was surprised the name was still being used.

muntrv

(14,505 posts)
8. Reminds me of Biggby Coffee originally called "Beaner" until 2007.
Tue Jun 9, 2020, 10:34 PM
Jun 2020


Biggby Coffee (pronounced "big B&quot is an American coffeehouse chain based in Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1995 in the city of East Lansing, Michigan by Bob Fish and Mary Roszel as Beaner's Coffee. By the end of the 1990s, the company had three locations throughout Lansing, and began to expand throughout the 21st century by means of franchising. In 2007 and 2008, the chain was officially renamed Biggby Coffee due to corporate concerns over the meaning of the word "beaner"; the name Biggby was derived from the letter B in the company's logo. As of 2019, the chain has expanded to over 230 locations throughout the United States


See more at link below:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biggby_Coffee
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