Playmobil is under fire for producing what some are calling a racist toy. When a California boy received a Playmobil pirate ship set for his fifth birthday, his mother was shocked to find that the children's toy also came with what she describes as a "slave" figurine.
Ida Lockett of Sacramento, California, was helping her son assemble the pirate ship, which also includes a dungeon, when she discovered that the instructions advised users to place a shackle around the dark-skinned figurine's neck, according to CBS Sacramento. The figurine is shoeless and wearing a ripped shirt and pants.
"It’s definitely racist," Lockett told CBS. "It told my son to put a slave cuff around the black character’s neck, and then to play with the toy.”
Aimee Norman, the aunt who gifted the set, complained on Playmobil USA's Facebook page:
#PlaymobilUSA, I am MORTIFIED to have recently bought your Pirate Ship Set 5135 for my nephew only to hear that when assembling it, they found that its assembly instructions indicate to add the neck cuff/shackle to the black character's neck. I suppose it's optional as to whether a kid chooses to then place said character into chains or into a prison cell at the bottom of the ship.
When I was browsing your play sets for purchase, this was the only one that even had a black character and that's precisely why I chose it for my nephew. I didn’t notice from the box exterior that the black characters were to be depicted in this offensive way. Who would think in the year 2015?
Another family member had this Pirate Ship set decades long ago and has found documentation indicating this character is actually a newly conceived edition to the set.
WOW. Would it be too much to ask for you to just create a regular old black pirate?
Newsflash, Playmobil: this is the 21st century. People of African descent have contributed to mankind in a myriad of ways that existed outside of the disgusting institution of the slave trade. Selling children's toys that are suggestive of slavery in play is obscene, even moreso given the marked absence of diversity in your entire toy line.
#Slavery.is.not.a.game.Playmobil
What is wrong with you????
Ever heard of Alex Haley’s Roots? Twelve Years a Slave?
Can't get this away from my nephew and back to the store fast enough, Ida Ida...
In a statement to The Washington Post , Playmobil defended the toy:
If you look at the box, you can see that the pirate figure is clearly a crew member on the pirate ship and not a captive. The figure was meant to represent a pirate who was a former slave in a historical context. It was not our intention to offend anyone in anyway.
Playmobil's Facebook page has been inundated with photos of the toy, as well as demands for an apology or a recall. Despite the complaints, however, other some Facebook users are defending the toy, with one person commenting on Norman's post, "If you don't like the idea of pirates and slaves/prisoners then a pirate ship toy is not for you."
