[Brother Guy Bayard]

Racial slur on sofa label stuns family

JIM WILKES/TORONTO STAR
Doris Moore's 7-year-old daughter, Olivia, spotted this label on covering around a new sofa set.







Mother had to explain to daughter, 7 origin of 'totally unacceptable' word on wrapping of furniture built overseas

Apr 06, 2007 04:30 AM
Jim Wilkes
Staff Reporter

When the new chocolate-coloured sofa set was delivered to her Brampton home, Doris Moore was stunned to see packing labels describing the shade as "Nigger-brown."
She and husband Douglas purchased a sofa, loveseat and chair in dark brown leather last week from Vanaik Furniture and Mattress store on Dundas St. E.
Moore, 30, who describes herself as an African-American born and raised in New York, said it was her 7-year-old daughter who pointed out the label just after delivery men from the Mississauga furniture store left.
"She's very curious and she started reading the labels," Moore explained. "She said, `Mommy, what is nig ... ger brown?' I went over and just couldn't believe my eyes."
She said yesterday each piece had a similar label affixed to the woven protective covering wrapped around the furniture.
"In this day and age, that's totally unacceptable," Moore said.
Douglas explained the origins of the word to daughter Olivia, telling how it was a bad name that blacks were called during the days of slavery in the United States.
"It was tough, because she really didn't understand," Moore said. "She'd never heard that word before and didn't really understand the concept of it."
Moore, who has a younger son and daughter, said she's heard the word used many times, although it has never been directed in anger at her.
"But it's a very, very bad word that makes you feel degraded, like you're a nobody," she said.
Moore said she called the furniture store the following day and three other times since, and feels discouraged that no one has returned her calls.
When interviewed yesterday by the Star, Romesh Kumar, Vanaik's assistant manager, passed the buck to his supplier, Cosmos Furniture in Scarborough.
"Why should I take the blame?" he said. "I'm a trader, I don't manufacture. I sell from 20 companies, maybe 50 companies. How can I take care of all of them?"
He said that he would check similar stock and make sure other labels were removed.
"That's terrible, that's a racial ... something?" Kumar said. "This is entirely wrong, but it's not my fault. It's my job to sell good product to people."
He said the best he could do is to give Moore the telephone number of his supplier, so she could take it up with him.
The owner of Cosmos Furniture, Paul Kumar, no relation to Romesh, said he was upset to learn packing labels on products he sold carried a racial epithet.
"I import my products from overseas," he said. "I've never noticed anything like that. This is something new to me."
He passed the blame to a Chinese company, but apologized for the labels. He said he would contact the furniture maker in Guangzhou and demand they remove all similar labels.
Moore said she's not sure she wants the sofa set in her home.
"Every time I sit on it, I'll think of that," she said.

See what happens when these poor sons of Ham are dragged a kickin and a screamin into the twentieth century by the 'roots' of their fuzzy wuzzy afro hair dos- Education just short circuits a negroids mind . However, I'd be upset too. That sofa was mislabelled . Its more of a 'Porch-monkey chocolate', than a 'nigger-brown'. Its so obviously the wrong shade - those yellow commie bastards have to be taught English. I wonder if they checked the credit card she 'bought' the sofa with to make sure its not stolen?

[Brother V]

I think most of the reason why she's angry (other than BECAUSE she black) is because she's not black enough.

When her daughter asks her "mommy, if i'm black how come i'm not as black as nigger brown?"

Doris is going to have to explain to her daughter the difference between a house and a field nigger.

She's then going to have to explain why the field's discriminate against the house's because of the way they were worked.

She's then going to have to explain why she's not as black as the other blacks. Even though she thinks she is

The worst part about this story, is the full education that the young daughter hasn't received. That her mother was shielding her from her history.

Be proud house nigger! You've earned it!

[Pastor Ezekiel]

What surprises me is that this "family" (more likely a welfare mom and her litter of kids) chose "nigger brown" as the color of their sofa. They'll blend in and she won't even know how many nigglets she has.

I had always heard that they preferred those lime green long-haired shag sofa sets.

[Brother Guy Bayard]

Originally Posted by Pastor Ezekiel

What surprises me is that this "family" (more likely a welfare mom and her litter of kids) chose "nigger brown" as the color of their sofa. They'll blend in and she won't even know how many nigglets she has.

If one of her niglets should fall asleep on the lounge the child could become wedged in between the cheeks of those enormous sow negroid buttocks, sadly suffering suffocation on the sofa before sufficient assistance could be safely rendered. Maybe she should dress her little brown babies in hi-vis fluorescent vests just to be sure. Or have the State take them in to protective foster homes where they can be taught Christian manners.

[Talitha]

Originally Posted by Guy

If one of her niglets should fall asleep on the lounge the child could become wedged in between the cheeks of those enormous sow negroid buttocks, sadly suffering suffocation on the sofa before sufficient assistance could be safely rendered. Maybe she should dress her little brown babies in hi-vis fluorescent vests just to be sure. Or have the State take them in to protective foster homes where they can be taught Christian manners.

There's probably no need Brother Guy, although you are to be commended for having such True Christian™ consideration.
Kentucky Fried Chicken Buckets are brightly coloured for just such an occasion, and as It's the Staple diet of these people then I'm sure the expense of those vests wouldn't be needed.

[Nobar King]

Originally Posted by Brother V

When her daughter asks her "mommy, if i'm black how come i'm not as black as nigger brown?"

What a dilemma!

[H. Montague Worthington]

Originally Posted by Guy

Racial slur on sofa label stuns family

JIM WILKES/TORONTO STAR
"She said, `Mommy, what is nig ... ger brown?' I went over and just couldn't believe my eyes."

"It was tough, because she really didn't understand," Moore said. "She'd never heard that word before and didn't really understand the concept of it."

So then a valuable lesson was learned in all this... a little girl now knows her place.