![]() ![]() The first Sambo’s was opened in Santa Barbara in 1957. Even as they renamed some units in the East where there had been boycotts, the company insisted the change was purely in order to market their new menus. Instead the founders, their successor, and the corporation that finally took over the chain all insisted right up to the bitter end that no harm was intended or implied. ![]() Regardless of whether “Sam-bo” originated from the first name of one of them combined with the nickname of the other. Why would they decorate with images from the book “Little Black Sambo,” the American editions of which were filled with racist caricatures?Įvidently they had no idea that Sambo had been – and still was – a derogatory word for black males for over 100 years that the name and ridiculous images of Sambo were used on many consumer products in the early 20th century and that after WWII school libraries had complied with requests by African-Americans to remove the book from shelves.Įven if they didn’t know any of this, when protests erupted they might have realized they had made a terrible mistake. Wouldn’t the founders of Sambo’s, in the late 1950s, dimly perceive that the name Sambo was not beloved by everyone, especially African-Americans? ![]() Certainly one that would not insult a portion of its intended customers. You might imagine that chain restaurants would spend vast amounts of time and money researching potential names in order to pick one that would convey exactly the desired associations and nuances. ![]()
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