HOUSTON (FOX 26) — One woman was caught off guard when she saw dolls and statues in blackface on a store's shelves. They are being sold at a shop in Houston.
While antique shopping on Westheimer Road, Dana Tate found more than she bargained for when she saw the dolls and statues in blackface.
"It was very shocking," says Tate. "Something that brought back images of segregation and slavery."
Tate posted photos of the dolls and statues on social media and was surprised again when some said it was no big deal.
"For me it was very devastating,” adds Tate.
Pastor Robert Dixon saw Tate's post, shared it and says he is insulted that a store would sell what he calls "racist relics."
"It stems for us from a place of pain, a place of bondage," says Pastor Dixon.
"It’s almost an obligation to take offense at some of these icons because if you don’t, you’re ignoring their true intent and their true intent was to offend,” explains University of Houston history professor Matt Clavin, who says the dolls and statues made in that time weren't a depiction of black people but rather a caricature, a mockery.
"These portrayals in no way meant to represent black people in a positive light," says Clavin. "It made them physically, intellectually and culturally inferior. So they are really offensive to anyone who studies history.”
The tag on one statue reads “Blackamoor with three glass vases.” Clavin says Blackamoor was the disrespectful name whites called blacks before the "n-word." There’s a $650 price tag attached to that statue, a price some blacks these days are willing to pay for this merchandise.
The historian says in days gone by, the statues were only owned by white supremacists.
"They represent a really bleak time in American history and some people really just don’t understand,” explains Clavin. He also says he believes these items now belong in a museum, not on store shelves.
The owner of the antique store where they are sold says there are 60 different dealers that sell merchandise in the shop. The dealer who sells the doll and jockey bookends gave FOX 26 News the following statement:
The rag doll is precious. The bookends were my deceased husband's. They’re not offensive in anyway and pertain to horse racing, not racism. I wouldn’t sell anything offensive.