![]() ![]() If we can’t laugh at ourselves.then we’ll continue to live in blame and bitterness,” Chang said in a statement. “It draws on stereotypes not as a means to degrade, but as a medium to bring together in laughter. from Taiwan at the age of 8, defended his game as a humorous representation of real life. “We shall not sit by quietly and allow this type of insult to occur.”ĭespite the criticism, Chang, who immigrated to the U.S. “It is disturbing.to promote and capitalize off such negative aspects of society that cause great harm to individuals and to the African-American community at-large,” NAACP President Kweisi Mfume wrote in a letter to David Chang, the creator of the Ghettopoly game. Urban Outfitters, the chain clothing store that sold the game, has removed Ghettopoly from its shelves. The National Association of the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has led a movement calling for an end to the production and sale of Ghettopoly, and is urging consumers to boycott stores that sell it. And the object of the game is to buy stolen property and build crack houses while trying to avoid being shot.īlack and minority leaders across the country have openly condemned the game, calling it a racist and offensive perpetrator of negative stereotypes. Rather than coveted properties like Boardwalk and Park Place, the new Ghettopoly game features squares like Smitty’s XXX Peep Show and Tyron’s Gun Shop. Clergy here in Philadelphia and across the nation are continuing their vigilance in opposing the sale of this game until it is removed from the Internet.A new board game that substitutes pimps and prostitutes for traditional Monopoly pieces has spurred criticism and charges of racism across the country-and at Harvard. "While they took it off the shelves, they did not take it off the Internet. Chang told The Associated Press that he intends to fight the lawsuit.Īccording to Shine, he and others have attempted to contact and meet with Chang, but Chang has not agreed to do so.Ĭhang's Web site also advertises new games "coming soon," including "Hoodopoly," "Hiphopoly," "Thugopoly" and "Redneckopoly."Īnd although the company agreed to remove the game from its shelves, its opponents say they will continue to lobby against it. Specifically, he noted that it employed "characterizations of African Americans," including women, that presented them in a "denigrating manner" and a "demeaning way."ĭespite controversy over the board game, its creator states on its Web site that "Ghettopoly is controversial because it's both fun and real life."Ĭhang is currently facing a lawsuit filed by Hasbro, Inc., the company that produces Monopoly. "We are offended," he said, explaining that the game "expressed a racist mentality." Robert Shine Sr., president of the Black Clergy of Philadelphia and Vicinity, described the situation as sparking "a firestorm of opposition against the game across the nation." ![]() Many protesters were most offended by figures labeled "Malcum X" and "Martin Luthor King Jr." The names were intentionally misspelled by the game's creator, David Chang, who lives in Pennsylvania. Florida chapters of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People also called for the company to stop selling the game. In Chicago, members of the black clergy called for a boycott of Urban Outfitters. The protest was organized by the Black Clergy of Philadelphia and Vicinity, the Father's Day Rally Committee and Men United for a Better Philadelphia. Members of Philadelphia's black community protested outside Urban Outfitters' headquarters at 16th and Walnut streets on Oct. ![]() "He does not endorse or approve of the product." "Sam was pleased that did the right thing in pulling the game off shelves," Raab said. The game incorporates stereotypes of blacks as well as other minority groups, including Jews and Asians.Ĭontroversy over the game has even extended as far as Philadelphia politics, since the owner of Urban Outfitters is a contributor to the campaign of Sam Katz, the Republican candidate for mayor, according to his spokesman, Nate Raab. Squares on the Ghettopoly board are labeled Smitty's XXX Peep Show, Weinstein's Gold and Platinum and Tyron's Gun Shop. "Playas" buy crack houses and properties including Westside Liquor, Harlem, The Bronx and Long Beach City. The controversial spin-off of Monopoly can still be purchased from its Web site, however, at Ghettopoly game pieces include a marijuana leaf and a machine gun in place of the traditional Monopoly top hat and car. An employee at the Urban Outfitter's location on campus, at 36th and Walnut streets, who did not want her name published, said she could not comment on the game, but confirmed that it had been removed from the store's shelves, as well as those at other locations. ![]()
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