Over 5,800 people have signed a petition calling for a ban on sales of Gollies on the Isle of Wight.
The petition was created by Chalice Gaunt in August 2017, but has recently been reignited following the prominence of the Black Lives Matter movement and the peaceful protest held in Newport last week.
Gollys have been widely recognised as a racist symbol for many years, but can still be found for sale in some shops on the Isle of Wight.
Villa Vine: “Gollys were created in a racist era”
Islander Maria Villa Vine told News OnTheWight,
“I was horrified to see this image in a local shop. Society is at a tipping point.
“There needs to be a time for reflection and to awaken ourselves to recent and past events which impacts on people of colour.
“Historically gollies were created in a racist era. The golly was drawn as a caricature of a minstrel which in itself represented a demeaning and racial slur on an entire race of people. Regardless of the worldwide protests, the Golly has no place in current society.
“We are a tourist Island and need to make every visitor feel welcome to our high streets.”
The Council’s view
Last week Isle of Wight council leader said they were committed to the highest standards of equality for Island’s diverse communities and that if at any time they fall short in their aspirations, they’ll not be afraid to deal with it in a transparent and honest way.
News OnTheWight got in touch with Isle of Wight council leader, Dave Stewart, to ask his views on Gollies and related-paraphernalia being sold on the Island.
Cllr Stewart replied,
“This issue has been raised by residents direct with the council as well and I will ask our lead officer Amanda Gregory to provide you with a response on the statutory position in terms of Trading Standards.
“From a personal perspective I feel that we all need to reflect on sensitive concerns of this nature and take steps to avoid discrimination or offence, unintentional or otherwise.
“I would like to think that our Island Businesses and Shops will already be doing so in order that we can as a community show our inclusive approach in terms of equality and diversity.”
We’ve yet to receive a response from Amanda Gregory, but hope to do so next week so we can update readers on what action will be taken by the council.
Trading Standards have no powers to investigate
A spokesperson for the council got in touch on Saturday morning with the following response.
“Unfortunately, this is not something that Trading Standards have powers to investigate.
“Their remit is around product safety and standards and we can only seize or require something to be taken off sale if it is unsafe.”
MP chose not to answer the question
News OnTheWight also asked Isle of Wight Conservative MP, Bob Seely, his view on Gollys being sold in Isle of Wight shops.
He chose to reply not directly to the questions and instead instructed his office to send his standard letter responses on the Black Lives Matter issue.
Article edit
2.50pm 13th June 2020 – comment about Trading Standards added
