# Is Buckwheat (the character, not the grain) offensive? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 25, 2019, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-buckwheat-the-character-not-the-grain-offensive/836048 "2019-06-25T17:42:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2019, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-buckwheat-the-character-not-the-grain-offensive/836048/21 "2019-06-26T13:45:07Z")
Did Our Gang/Little Rascals take place in a specific city, like L.A.? Or was it just generic urban America? ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2019, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-buckwheat-the-character-not-the-grain-offensive/836048/22 "2019-06-26T14:34:07Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > Did Our Gang/Little Rascals take place in a specific city, like L.A.? Or was it just generic urban America? It was filmed in Culver City California, an LA suburb which back then still had some rural areas but now is all developed. I consider myself a minor Our Gang historian and have read alot about the series. To add to the discussion: 1. It’s not only black but they also included a few asian kids. 2. They used the term “piccadelly” (although I dont know the actual spelling and cant find anything online), like we would say “negro” today. I remember one time a white Dad talking about his sons friend Stymie “you mean the little piccadilly boy”?. Not in a racist manner but only matter of fact. 3. The black characters were so popular they considered creating a whole new series around them called “The Piccadilly’s”. 4. I remember one short where Farina was getting a job out of the local paper and the ad called for “Colored boys needed” and the other kids pointing out that only kids like Farina could qualify. 5. If anything the slam was against rich people which was understandable during the depression. 6. Many of the kids went by nicknames like Froggy, Porky, Butch, Chubby, and Spanky. 7. The gender of “Buckwheat” was hard to figure out because sometimes he/she was a girl, sometimes we arent sure, and sometimes it was a boy. 8. The character “Stymie” wore a bowler hat. Where did he get that? He was friends with Stan Laurel from “Laurel and Hardy” which was also filmed in Culver studios who gave it to him. 9. The actor that played “Spanky” was pretty sheltered and said he was 8 when he realized not all children were being raised on a movie set. 10. While the depiction of black children tended to be pretty equal, black adult actors were stereotyped such as women being maids and looking like Aunt Jemima and the men never being in a position of authority but playing lower characters like janitors. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2019, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-buckwheat-the-character-not-the-grain-offensive/836048/23 "2019-06-26T14:54:26Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > 1. They used the term “piccadelly” (although I dont know the actual spelling and cant find anything online), like we would say “negro” today. I remember one time a white Dad talking about his sons friend Stymie “you mean the little piccadilly boy”?. Not in a racist manner but only matter of fact. > > 2. The black characters were so popular they considered creating a whole new series around them called “The Piccadilly’s”. I may be mistaken, but I think the term you’re thinking of there is “pickaninny.” ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2019, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-buckwheat-the-character-not-the-grain-offensive/836048/24 "2019-06-26T15:10:37Z")
[Pickaninny](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickaninny) is the racial slur. [Piccadilly](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piccadilly) is the street in London. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2019, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-buckwheat-the-character-not-the-grain-offensive/836048/25 "2019-06-26T15:19:36Z")
Possibly the most racist Our Gang episode was [The Kid from Borneo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UO8Gwr71ZE) (1933), featuring a carnival sideshow performer portrayed by a black man supposedly with a mental age of seven. (The original [Wild Men from Borneo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Men_of_Borneo) were two white American dwarfs alleged to be from the island. When we kids would act up my parents would tell us to “Stop acting like the Wild Man from Borneo”). While the Wild Man is certainly a racist stereotype, he is not shown to have any connection to Stymie, who appears prominently in the episode. To my surprise, on re-watching the episode it turns out that the kids mistakenly believe the Wild Man is Spanky and his siblings’ Uncle George, not Stymie’s uncle (as I had remembered it). And Stymie is the one who compares him to a gorilla, not the white kids. The kids, black and white, are essentially color-blind with regard to Uncle George. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2019, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-buckwheat-the-character-not-the-grain-offensive/836048/26 "2019-06-26T15:42:13Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I may be mistaken, but I think the term you’re thinking of there is “pickaninny.” Oops, your right. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2019, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-buckwheat-the-character-not-the-grain-offensive/836048/27 "2019-06-26T16:16:22Z")
In spite of having seen the explanation for the OP’s username multiple times, my brain still _always_ reads it as “Wookie in a pub” ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2019, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-buckwheat-the-character-not-the-grain-offensive/836048/28 "2019-06-26T16:25:32Z")
Here’s a pretty good [article](https://www.laweekly.com/the-book-our-gang-reveals-the-complicated-racial-history-of-the-little-rascals/) about a book that was written about the racial history of Our Gang. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2019, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-buckwheat-the-character-not-the-grain-offensive/836048/29 "2019-06-26T16:38:45Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Possibly the most racist Our Gang episode was [The Kid from Borneo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UO8Gwr71ZE) (1933), featuring a carnival sideshow performer portrayed by a black man supposedly with a mental age of seven. (The original [Wild Men from Borneo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Men_of_Borneo) were two white American dwarfs alleged to be from the island. When we kids would act up my parents would tell us to “Stop acting like the Wild Man from Borneo”). Was that “yum yum eat 'em up”? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2019, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-buckwheat-the-character-not-the-grain-offensive/836048/30 "2019-06-26T16:48:47Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Was that “yum yum eat 'em up”? Yes. I must confess that my family still uses that phrase when indulging in acts of gluttony. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2019, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-buckwheat-the-character-not-the-grain-offensive/836048/31 "2019-06-26T17:45:02Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > In spite of having seen the explanation for the OP’s username multiple times, my brain still _always_ reads it as “Wookie in a pub” That makes me giggle. I can picture Chewie holding a big ol’ beer mug 😛 ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2019, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-buckwheat-the-character-not-the-grain-offensive/836048/32 "2019-06-27T03:56:21Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > In spite of having seen the explanation for the OP’s username multiple times, my brain still _always_ reads it as “Wookie in a pub” Thank God ------- I thought it was just me and the brain damage from my last stroke. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2019, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-buckwheat-the-character-not-the-grain-offensive/836048/33 "2019-06-27T04:10:04Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > In spite of having seen the explanation for the OP’s username multiple times, my brain still _always_ reads it as “Wookie in a pub” You are not alone. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2019, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-buckwheat-the-character-not-the-grain-offensive/836048/34 "2019-06-27T04:51:27Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > That makes me giggle. I can picture Chewie holding a big ol’ beer mug 😛 [Like this?](http://www.freakingnews.com/Chewbacca-and-Luke-at-the-Local-Pub-Pics-23115.asp) ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2019, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-buckwheat-the-character-not-the-grain-offensive/836048/35 "2019-06-27T13:46:34Z")
Did the character who played Buckwheat think it was racist? ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2019, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-buckwheat-the-character-not-the-grain-offensive/836048/36 "2019-06-27T14:33:00Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Was that “yum yum eat 'em up”? Children’s author Dav Pilkey had the Talking Toilets say that in Captain Underpants and the Attack of the Talking Toilets. He also gave George and Harold, the main characters, the last names Beard and Hutchins (the last names of Stymie and Wheezer, respectively). Their school was Jerome Horwitz Elementary. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-buckwheat-the-character-not-the-grain-offensive/836048/37 "2019-06-28T17:10:32Z")
> [@SuntanLotion](#): > > Did the character who played Buckwheat think it was racist? Every indication is no; and his son (I believe) named a scholarship fund for the character after his death. I believe most of the cast remained proud of the shows but Billie Thomas (Buckwheat) and Spanky MacFarland seemed the most vocal about it. Billie died kinda young so you could argue that more time may have changed his opinion but somehow I doubt it. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-buckwheat-the-character-not-the-grain-offensive/836048/38 "2019-06-28T23:54:10Z")
> [@P-man](#): > > Their school was Jerome Horwitz Elementary. Presumably the Junior High was named after Larry and the High School after Moe. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2019, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-buckwheat-the-character-not-the-grain-offensive/836048/39 "2019-06-29T01:49:29Z")
Interesting aside: soon after this topic was posted I was reading the Wikipedia page for Our Gang when I noticed that Stepin Fetchit was a guest star in one film. I was then reading his page when I discovered that his son was [an early spree killer](https://amok.fandom.com/wiki/Donald_Martin_Lambright). ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2019, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-buckwheat-the-character-not-the-grain-offensive/836048/40 "2019-06-29T02:26:57Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > When we kids would act up my parents would tell us to “Stop acting like the Wild Man from Borneo”). There’s room for a whole 'nother thread here about things that parents said that would be considered racist today, but weren’t meant to be so. Maybe I’ll start that thread on another day when I’m not five minutes from falling asleep. For me, it would be a couple of things my mother used to say when we were acting up (for context, she was the child, and I am the grandson, of immigrants from Ireland): > [@](#): > > Stop acting like a bunch of shanty Irish! > > You’re behaving like a bunch of tinkers’ brats! Again, for context, the term “tinker” is stil controversial in Ireland. Okay, sorry about the hijack. It just struck me as I was reading. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-buckwheat-the-character-not-the-grain-offensive/836048.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-buckwheat-the-character-not-the-grain-offensive/836048.md?page=3)