General Chat

I saw the Black and White Minstrels in 1965. As far as I know they were white people blacked up. It was a musical show on stage in London. Please tell me if this offended anyone - it was just a show to me.

The same year I was in South Africa. Apartheid was still going strong. I was 7 years old and what I remember is this: different beaches for blacks and whites in Durban. In Cape Town, different bus stops for blacks and whites. And, what really stood out for me, queuing for a cafe in a department store for a cup of tea,but different queues.

As a kid, these things seemed wrong - but not the Black and White Minstrels.

I do not wish to upset anyone, just to give a child's view of the situation at the time.

I had Boko and Tomo dolls named after the conjoined, except we called them Siamese then,twins.

I loved my Golly as a Child and recently bought one in a garden centre for my grandson. I was surprised, thought they had been banned. Just to add, I am the least racist person you could wis to meet and same as others think its PC gone mad .
Ho and I also had a black dolly called lu lu , this was in the fifties.

I used to collect porcelain dolls and am the proud owner of a beautiful black little girl nearly three feet tall with her hair done in tiny bunches all over her head. She is dressed in European clothes and holds a small black rag doll. I also have a smaller black doll with three faces, one laughing, one crying and one serious, I have only to look at her mischievious smiling face and I feel uplifted.

The black and white minstrels never related to black people to me either. It was just the costume people wore to do that form of entertainment. Black people don't have white eyes,hands and mouths.

We don't have much of a racial mix where I live so I don't think I had ever had the opportunity to develop any prejudices until I was told I was not allowed to have them.

Most of my vicarious knowledge was picked up from old childrens books from jumble sales and remember that they tended to have a lot of black cannibals in them.I was a bit scared when I was in the bathroom alone with a black nurse when I was six and had my tonsils out and hoping the black lady at the beach would not eat my dad because I didn't know the way home.

Surely the way to avoid prejudice is to make the truth available.

I loved my Golly. my Mother knitted it for me. We also had black dolls. I think it may have been because we had been in Tripoli for a few years. Mother also had black ornaments......All sold in Africa......Golly
Was my dolly........So I have no qualms about collecting them now.....My sister had the Robinson's Golly badges.......None of us were racist....to us they were just black dollies.......So tell me where the harm is.....Tsk! And for goodness sake!.....PC gone mad

evening peeps, i work in a variety of nurseries and schools and i have always seen dolls that are black and white. in the nursery i currently work in, the children always say the black one comes from a hot place and is sunburnt! they dont refer to it as "black". most play with all the dolls whatever their colour, it never is an issue unless someone makes it an issue.

i had a golly when i was young and dolls and i played with them all together. golly was just golly as teddy was just teddy.

florence

So do many black people Sharron. But you only need the one who plays the race card to keep the pc brigade going.

And what was so wrong with the golly on the jar you had to look for?

My mate Vilbard, who is a black Namibian and has lived with legal apartheit, finds our political correctness quite amusing.

My sister (born1952) had a black bisque doll. Sheliked it so much she never passed it on to me - though I did get her Sindys.
I managed to buy a black doll for my eldest (born 1980),and knitted a golly.
I also knitted a very tall doll with ginger hair- she grew every time she was washed, an orange faced doll, made a green octopus, and a couple of very white faced dolls.
Colour meant absolutely nothing in our house - it all depended on what material/wool I had!! LOL

I think the reason why we loved them as children, they were so soft and cuddly - more so than teddy bears.

I had a Golly as a child, I loved him. When the time comes I am looking forward to searching my father's loft for my long lost toys!

I also have a black china baby doll that belonged to my mother; it was sent to her in the 30's by family who had emigrated to Canada. I once saw the exact doll on an antiques show, but mine has been over-loved. Her eyes have vanished into her head and her two little teeth now point the wrong way!

In the '60's I was an avid collector of Robertsons' Gollies and had almost the entire collection.

Mary,

I was taught that people with darker skins than mine were from hot counties and the colour of their skin was to protect them from sunburn and that we were all God's children.

I am sure your delight was similar to mine when I found one!

The website with the name of a river has Gollys - different sizes and prices. The one I bought is on EBay - £5.99 free postage 12" high larger one of 17" for about £10.

You just brough back such a memory for me!! I had five Gollies as a child, all of which I loved, I lined them up on my pillow and slept beside the pillow myself !
When my family emigrated, my Gollies were all packed in my bedside table, I was upset as I wanted to take them on the ship with me, but my suitcase was too small.
Sadly, despite the whole house being packed up by movers, my bedside table never arrived. across the pond. I never had another Golly but, when I visited New Zealand in 2001, the toy store there had loads of different Gollies and I brought one home. Since then I have made a couple more from felt (using the old pattern my mother had used to make mine from old clothes during the war) as gifts,
Never was my Golly collection considered a racial issue in our home, it was just my group of much-loved dollies. I was taught that there is one race, the human race - some just have a better tan than me - like my Gollies!!
No offence intended.
Mary

When my son was young he had a Golly, which he loved,
l have a Golly fridge magnet which l have had a few comments about........all good may l say !!

I'm fairly sure I've seen gollies sold locally.
My aunt made a small one for me out of black velvet. I loved it.

A neighbour's daughter had a black doll. We were fascinated by the tight curls, as we hardly ever saw people of different races ( early 1950s)

A few modern-day ones here......

http://dolls.shop.ebay.co.uk/Dolls-Bears-/237/i.html?_nkw=ethnic+&_cqr=true&_nkwusc=etnic&_rdc=1

Gwyn

Jude you could be getting orders. I could check mine although bought in Broad Haven, think it was made in Kent.

I thought at the time and still do that it was so sad only white dolls were available in black culture countries for their little girls.

Well we used to call them Golly as well but there was also a surname which if I put on here I may get banned!!! We loved them to bits and we also had non white dolls who we adored. I would have thought that by now they could be OK as there are so many mixed marriages and relationships.

Actually I preferred playing with ambulances and nurse/doctor outfits so many of my dolls were patients!!!

16.35 Hrs Spain

We knitted Gollies at school when I was in the final year of juniors.

I had a Golly that my mum knitted about 18" high unfortunatly the dog got hold of it and ripped it to shreads
I also had a black doll along with Tiny Tears...I am sure they were the only two dolls I ever had

jax