WATCH: Black people respond to Prada’s sambo-like holiday merchandise

Prada receives backlash due to their Pradamalia fantasy charms resembling blackface.

Dec 14, 2018

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Another brand bites the dust.

In case you missed it, Prada is the latest brand to receive backlash due to their lack of knowledge on Black history. The high-fashion luxury brand thought sambo-like merchandise was the perfect gift for the holidays.

BLACKFACE BACKLASH CAUSES PRADA TO TWEET STATEMENT ABOUT THEIR RACIST HOLIDAY MONKEY GIFTS—BUT THEY DIDN’T PULL OFFENSIVE PRODUCTS FROM STORES

The degrading display at the SOHO location, in New York City, went viral after a Facebook user, Chinyere Ezie, posted a status in disgust: “I don’t make a lot of public posts, but right now I’m shaking with anger. Today after returning to NYC after a very emotional visit to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture including an exhibit on blackface, I walked past Prada’s Soho storefront only to be confronted with the very same racist and denigrating #blackface imagery. I entered the store with a coworker, only to be assaulted with more and more bewildering examples of their Sambo-like imagery.”

Despite the resemblance in Prada’s fantasy charms and Sambo, Prada says the charms are “not a reference to the real world and certainly not blackface.”

[1/2] #Prada Group abhors racist imagery. The Pradamalia are fantasy charms composed of elements of the Prada oeuvre. They are imaginary creatures not intended to have any reference to the real world and certainly not blackface.

— PRADA (@Prada) December 14, 2018

[2/] #Prada Group never had the intention of offending anyone and we abhor all forms of racism and racist imagery. In this interest we will withdraw the characters in question from display and circulation.

— PRADA (@Prada) December 14, 2018

In 2018, why do we still have to explain why these images are offensive?

theGrio headed down to the store to see what was going on first-hand and to get reactions from folks walking by the store. Many people expressed that with the unlimited access to history, Prada should have known better and this proves they don’t respect their Black consumers.

Check out the video for more!