Still racist

January 15, 2011 at 5:17 pm · Filed under Arab Culture, Art, Music


I know that the word “slave” by no means has the same implications in Arabic as it does in English. Yet, I can’t be less amused by the name of the marshmellow chocolate “Ras ilabed”, literally meaning “the head of the slave”.

Sambo, my favorie manufacturer of ras il abed, recently rebranded. While I am very happy with the advancements in hygiene, it is amazing that it somehow became even more racist.

I know that we Arabs look at racism with a grain of salt, but should this really be okay in this day and age? Aside from being insensitive, I also think it portrays a terribly wrong message for the hoards of children indulging in this delicious dessert.

I say… Keep the name, but lose the racist visuals.






  • http://emigrant2immigrant.wordpress.com/ Emi

    Yep, I was shocked when I first saw these in Jordan. Sambo is a racial slur in the U.S., and I took a few of these with me the first time I visited home after moving to Jordan, simply because I couldn’t believe it and had to show someone else who “got it!”
    .-= The latest from Emi´s blog ..It’s a new year So what =-.

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  • Roba

    I just wikied Sambo and discovered that even that is a racial slur! That is amazing. I was amused by the imagery and the Arabic name, ras il abed, but this adds a whole new level. So it is purposely racist! Amazing.

  • Omar

    Hey Roba, this maybe one of my dense moments, but I don’t get why you say the image on the packaging is racist? Is it because one should call blacks “chocolaty”? I don’t think black people have a problem with that. Not a big one anyway! :)
    http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100718184507AA5eLdn

  • Omar

    ^^ make that a “… should NOT call blacks…”

  • http://andfaraway.net Roba

    Omar, lol. Hard to explain this one! I did not mean that it is racist to call black people “chocolate”, though you definitely won’t ever hear me call anyone that (Did you know that in the Gulf, Palestinians are referred to as “abu zaatar” in a derragatory manner?)

    What I find to be racist is the branding of Sambo to literally refer to a slave. Not in the Arabic sense of the word where “abed” can be seen in neutral or even positive light, but In the literal sense of the word, meaning, courtesy of Wikipedia:

    Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property and are forced to work.[1] Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation. In some historical situations it has been legal for owners to kill slaves.[2]

    The icon, or cartoon if you may, brings to mind such a slave that you would see in, for example, orientalist portraits.

    To make matters even more racist, I discovered via Emi’s comment above that Samba means the following:

    Sambo is a racial term for a person with mixed Native American and African heritage (see zambo) and can also be used less specifically for a black person in the United States and the United Kingdom. It is considered a racial slur.

    Examples of “Sambo” as a common slave name can be found as far back as the 18th century.

  • Sami

    In Gaza, we call it Shatawi… because it is mainly sold in the winter months (at least this was the case few years ago when I was there)… In the summer, we have ice cream, in the winter, Shatawi. I never heard “Ras il abed” until I went to Jordan.

  • Rebrandt
  • http://www.joycefied.wordpress.com AlmondJoycie

    I would like to see a followup post asking people of African origin their reaction of this product just by showing it to them. Are THEY offended? Having grown up in rural Pennsylvania with my grandparents settling there and farming, I can matter of factly say I am a redneck. My grandfather’s neck and eventually bald scalp became red from long hours spent under a hot sun. I love the Sambo logo as well as the Aunt Jemima syrup bottle. If ever I met the personification of these characters, I think I would like them.

  • http://www.sandpail.wordpress.com Rachel

    I am an African-American woman who is currently living in Lebanon and I’m commenting from that perspective. I don’t think it’s the candy alone that would be offensive, but the connotation of it and how it is embedding negative stereotypes in people’s minds. I’m not going to protest against the candy, but I’m just commenting since the question was asked.

    There’s a lot of underlying meaning in things. Flip the script and imagine it from your perspective. How would you like to have the face of someone from your racial/ethnic/religious group plastered on a product depicting your group in the lowest stereotype possible. Top this off with a culture that seldom presents positive images of your racial/ethnic/religious group.

    I hope to visit Jordan soon, but if it’s anything like Lebanon then most of the blacks in the country are servants/helpers. So the candy would then reinforce that idea of blacks in the country, limiting the country’s perception of their capabilities.

    I wrote about my experience being black in Lebanon here: http://wp.me/pUpqL-5H

    (BTW Roba, awesome blog. I follow it quite a bit.)

  • Stef

    In The Netherlands, they used to be called “Negerzoenen” (Negro kisses), until 2006 when they where re-branded to simply “zoenen”. Nowadays, they write “Negen zoenen” (9 kisses) on the box as a reference to the old name. In other countries, the candy used to have similar names, but they where changed long ago (Negerküsse, Têtes de nègre, Mohrenkopfen, Neekerin suukot,…)

  • Chris

    That is racist. It’s not okay. Not much else to say about all that.

  • http://farismadi.com/blog Faris

    I’ve been saying that “it is freaking racist” for ages but ppl are busy smelling their own farts!
    Sad but true that our history, culture and tradition is full of this bullshit. Yet! we (not me) cherish it!

    Thank you Roba for the post and Rebrandt for the link!
    I think this must be published on our local and international newspapers!
    .-= The latest from Faris´s blog ..GJordan- Day 3 =-.

  • khalidjarrar

    oh man its very troubling posting this issue in English. As there is absolutely no way this post will pass just the right way to any westerner.

    **adrresses westerners**

    Look guys, due to the super sensitivity of the issue to you, having a recent history of slavery where african americans suffered unspeakable and unimaginable pain, your perspective is very tensed and too absolutely strictly set against racism (rightfully, as it should be) that you can not possibly get that, actually, by calling the chocolate a slave head, which sounds awful by all means, but honestly, said in Arabic, within our local culture, it actually is not awful. its even kinda endearing. please dont shoot me, i am aware this sounds so terrible to you, but believe me it is.

    ps: the Samboo thing though, that IS something! man oh man how did they even find that word??!

  • Nick

    In 1970s Germany I remember eating Negerküsse. They were delicious but my Dad explained to me that it wasn’t a nice name and I shouldn’t use it. I’m told the name has now been changed, and rightly so.

    Sambo is obviously deeply offensive in itself but as a person who lives in Africa I would suggest that ‘Ras ilabed’ is also likely to be offensive to black people on this continent who speak Arabic (or related languages). Consider the relationship of Arabia with the East African slave trade. Thoughts?

    Use of sambo, negro, coon, and other racial slurs was once common and not unacceptable throughout England, and it was only about 30-40 years ago that their use started to really die out.

    Language defines our reality. It is easier to imagine a minority as separate and inferior when your language institutionalises it.

  • http://andfaraway.net Roba

    Agreed, that it is racist. But I agree with Khalid that speakers of Arabic will probably not find “ras il abed” so offensive.

    It’s just the connotation they use, and the combination of “Sambo”, the icon, and the name that really makes everything a feat in racism.

    I really hope Zeidan steps up and changes it!

  • Salma

    Too racist…

  • Manal

    lol – keep the name “ras il 3abed” when it literally looks like the head of a black person? I still find it wrong :)

  • Roba

    Oh it’s wrong for sure. But 7abeh 7abeh :)

  • Marah

    I love it, but I dont always find at supermarkets :( I wish i can also find chocolate Al-SANAFER!

  • Laith

    racism is in the eye of the beholder.

  • Hani

    The graphic is definitely offensive, but if they change the name people won’t know what what it is. What store in Amman has that box?

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  • http://www.hishamad.wordpress.com Hisham Assaad

    well, in lebanon, it was known as ras el abed for years
    this year, Ghandour (the manufacturer) releases the product in a new name with a lousy campaign to promote the new name.
    no matter what they call it, people will still know it as ras el abed

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