A little common sense is all it takes. A dollar store in Lincoln Park, Michigan, is pulling a figurine from its shelves for depicting a white cherub stepping on a Black baby’s head.
The Super Dollar Center’s figure, which was first reported on by local station WXYZ, features a white cherub in angelic battle armor standing triumphantly over a naked Black cherub with horns. With one foot on the Black cherub’s head and a sword dangling over his body, the figure seems to suggest the white cherub is exerting superiority over his Black hostage. Not to mention, the figurine supposedly depicts the Christian Archangel Michael standing triumphantly over Satan, which brings in yet another white supremacist message: white is good, Black is evil.
“It has a racial undertone, and why does the baby have to be Black?” one woman told WXYZ. “If they wanted to portray a message it could have just been the same color. So to me it’s almost like Blacks are inferior.”
The controversy originally began after one shopper posted a photo of the figurine on Facebook. After her mom called the store about the cherubs, management promised to remove the item. But when WXYZ visited to talk to the store’s manager, the dollar store had yet to remove the statues.
“Let me tell you. This is made in China,” a store manager identified as Mike told WXYZ. “[Whoever brings] it to this country, he’s responsible about this, not me.”
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Still, the manager vowed to take down the figurines, and he began removing the items from the store while WXYZ interviewed him. There just hasn’t been enough time during the holidays to take down the figurines beforehand, he explained. But since customers are always right, he’ll comply.
“Someone complained about it, I’m taking it outta the shelf, that’s it,” Mike continued. “They don’t like it, I’ll take it outta the shelf.”
Racism remains a common problem in consumer affairs. One former Black employee sued Versace, claiming that the luxury brand uses a code to announce when a Black shopper has entered the store. Meanwhile, white shoppers are known for racist tirades across everywhere from Dunkin’ Donuts to Michaels. Even when the products aren’t racist, sometimes the people inside the store are the bigger problem.