In the puzzle game Scribblenauts for the Nintendo DS, you type in names of items that appear on screen and help you complete levels. Among the tens of thousands of possibilities is one that’s more than a little unnerving: type in the antiquated racial slur “sambo” and up pops a watermelon, another racist Vaudevillian symbol.
racism
Microsoft Poland Demonstrates Hilariously Bad Photoshop Skills
By 8.26.09
Apparently, some geniuses at Microsoft decided that an Asian man, a black guy, and a white woman wasn’t the best way to sell Microsoft’s Business Productivity tools in Poland. So they swapped out the black guy with a white guy in the photo. Nothing terribly unusual about that – ads are altered for foreign markets all the time. But that Photoshopped head of a grimacing, palsied yuppie promises to haunt your dreams.
Japanese McDonald's Campaign Makes Fun Of White People, Foreigners
By 8.18.09
I like to make fun of white people (and, really, who doesn’t). Even McDonald’s likes to make fun of white people if the white people live in Japan. A new McDonald’s advertising there campaign centers on one Mr. James, a bespectacled idiot who tortures the Japanese language and is quite literally crazed for McDonald’s burgers.
Insiders: Countrywide Made Racist Sub-Prime Loans
By 6.8.09 — Updated: 11.9.12
The Wells Fargo racist sub-prime mortgage lawsuit reminded me of an old post we did where an ex-Countrywide employee alleged that that loan company had racist practices too. Here’s the insider email we posted back in February, 08:
Affidavits On How Wells Fargo Gave "Ghetto Loans" To "Mud People"
By 6.8.09
Here’s the official court filing (PDF) so you can get the full details on how Wells Fargo pushed or even fraudulently placed black borrowers into sub-prime loans, even when those borrowers could afford prime loans, along with an office environment where employees threw around racist slurs, calling black borrowers “mud people” and their mortgages “ghetto loans.” The official statements referenced in the NYT article are in this document in full. The affidavits begin on page 48. Two screenshots inside…
Loan Officers Detail Wells Fargo's Blatantly Racist Subprime Loans
By 6.7.09
UPDATE: Read the affidavits here.
HSBC, Wells Fargo Accused Of Racism In Mortgage Issuing
By 3.15.09
The NAACP this week filed a class action suit accusing Wells Fargo and HSBC of charging unfairly high interest rates to African American homeowners with high incomes and high credit scores. The banks were quick to slap down the charges as “totally unfounded and reckless,” even in the face of convincing evidence from the NAACP.
NYC Baker Sells 'Drunken Negro Head' Cookies, Doesn't See The Problem
By 1.23.09
Ted Kefalinos, the proprietor of a bakery in Greenwich Village (a neighborhood in New York City), can’t understand why the media is having such a field day over his Drunken Negro Head cookies. They’re fun! Nobody complained about his dead geese cookies last week! He’s got a Cuban brother-in-law! We’d be more willing to believe it was just a bad marketing decision if it weren’t for the follow-up comments a customer alleged he made.
Sikh Signs For Package, UPS Driver Enters His Name As "TERRORIST"
By 12.27.08
A UPS driver entered a Sikh man’s name as TERRORIST on its online package-tracking database. The man’s family discovered the epithet when they searched for a package UPS failed to deliver.
Customer Finds Racial Slur On Receipt After Returning Some Shoes
By 10.22.08
KMBC in Kansas City, MO says that a local man found a racial slur on his receipt after returning a pair of shoes at a store called Journeys. He got his money back without a problem, but found a nasty surprise waiting on the receipt.
Coca-Cola's Probably Regretting Sponsoring Argentina's Women's Soccer Team
By 8.21.08
Pictured above are members of Argentina’s olympic soccer team, celebrating their trip to the Olympics in Beijing. Although they’re not the first Olympic team to strike this tasteless pose, they are the first to do so while wearing their corporate sponsor’s name on their jerseys.
Store Owner Demands Spanish-Speaking Customers Show Social Security Cards
By 3.13.08
David C. Richardson, the owner of Rhode Island Refrigeration in Providence, Rhode Island, overheard two customers speaking Spanish to each other, so he asked them to produce proof of citizenship. According to them, he then threatened to call Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and make a citizen’s arrest, although Richardson denies he picked up the phone, but not that he made the threats. In fact, he says he’s done this “fifteen or twenty times” in the past and refuses to do business with those who won’t show their Social Security cards.
By 8.20.07
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Remember that guy JetBlue and the TSA wouldn’t let on a plane for wearing an Arabic shirt? He, joined with the ACLU, have just sued them for racial profiling. [Seattle Times]
"Security Mostly Follows Black People" Disgruntled Target Worker Alleges
By 6.13.07
UPDATE: A current Target employee rebuts these statements, inside…
6 Muslims Who Were Arrested On A Flight Sue Passengers For Reporting Them As Potential Terrorists
By 5.10.07
Now the 6 arrested passengers are suing their accusers. Boy, there was sure a whole lot of nasty racism going on that day. It’s hard to figure out who should sue who, isn’t it? Psst, the airline probably has more money. —MEGHANN MARCO
Bad Translation Software Called Couch "Nigger-Brown"
By 4.20.07
A couch labeled as “nigger-brown” got its offensive name from a bad translation program, according to the furniture’s supplier.
Lawsuit: Is Walgreens Racist?
By 3.8.07
The lawsuit alleges that Walgreen assigns black managers, management trainees and pharmacists to low-performing stores and to stores in black communities, and that it denies them promotions based on race.
MySpace’s Racist Ring Tone Ads
By 8.23.06
On one hand, it’s hard to believe that MySpace endorsed or even saw this advertisement for cell phone ringtones that it’s been displaying on their web page. On the other hand, this sort of big-lipped, bone-through-the-fro depiction of an African hasn’t been acceptable since some of Louis Armstrong’s more colorful Max Fleischer appearances.
