Monday, August 2, 2010

Revisiting Pickaninny Peppermints



I discussed Thurgood Marshalls' ultimately successful crusade against Whitman's Pickaninny Peppermints in April, but the only picture I could locate was small and didn't have much impact. I have a better image now. Lovely, isn't it, the way the candy company best known for the traditional Americana of the beloved Whitman's Sampler box managed to work in the biggest traditional racist cliché about how a certain group of people jes' loves dey watermelon?
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4 comments:

  1. Trixie and Dustin of TheTeaDrinker.comAugust 3, 2010 at 5:57 PM

    I shiver just to look at that package... and not from the coolness of the peppermint! Wow, great find, very instructive, very sobering.

    Kudos for TC from your Northern California fans (well, some of them!),
    Trixie

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  2. Katharine WeberAugust 4, 2010 at 5:58 AM

    Thank you!

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  3. AnonymousSeptember 16, 2010 at 3:34 PM

    I found two of these boxes when cleaning the attic of an old house. Does anyone know any collectors who might be interested?

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  4. Katharine WeberSeptember 21, 2010 at 8:19 PM

    I would certainly be interested. (Please email me at katweber at snet dot net.)

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