I realize this is an academic exercise, but Ms. Doss does raise an
interesting question.  She states as a fact that a "Sambo" doll is offensive
in today's culture.

So are the various flags of the Confederacy, but because they are part of
the cultural heritage of the region we serve, they are exhibited.  We have a
bride's silk wedding gown, which she converted into a Confederate battle
flag for use by her new husband and the unit he commanded.  These items tell
a story that speaks for itself.

We have a man's ring which a federal soldier made out of the kneebone of a
Confederate soldier he killed.  That tells another story.

The various manifestations of "mammy" and "Sambo" and "Aunt Jemima" are not,
to me at least, controversial if they are exhibited objectively for what
they are.  I don't see museums having the right to hide, or otherwise
banish, any of the objects of our cultural past.

I am particularly fond of the representations of Pocahontas, Powhatan's
daughter, that were used by the Pocahontas Fuel Corp. of New York City
(coal) to advertise its product in the late 1930s.  Their advertising comic
books pictured her with mildly tan Caucasian features, dressed in red and
yellow buckskins, appearing as if she had just finished an appointment with
the beautician.

I think Pocahontas, with Sambo and "mammy" dolls, were rather likeable
creatures in those times.  I have never seen a likeable representation of a
Scotsman in a kilt, however -- usually it's either militaristic with the
horsehair sporran, or just plain goofy.  George Washington has never been
depicted as human, and so he is boring.  L'il Abner and Snuffy Smith and all
the rest don't do justice to the people of this Appalachian region, but no
one here really objects.

Ross Weeks Jr.
Tazewell VA
[log in to unmask]

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Anne Doss <[log in to unmask]>


changing perceptions of political
> > correctness, morality, appropriateness, etc., and what a museum does in
> the
> > face of these re: its collections use and management.  My example was a
> > museum that might have a doll in the "mammy" or "Sambo" style--does the
> > museum use these items, despite their offensiveness?

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