TACOMA, Wash. -- Statues of 'Little Black Sambo' and 'Tar Baby,' which stood in the Never Never Land area of Point Defiance park for 22 years, were removed at the request of black parents, officials say.
The brightly colored, 4-foot-tall figurines were removed Tuesday, less than 24 hours after a unanimous decision by the Tacoma Park Board to remove them.
Board president James Thomas said he agreed with two dozen protesters who said the storybook displays 'portray a negative stereotype' of black people.
The request to remove the statues was made two weeks ago by Delores Silas, a member of the Tacoma Human Rights Commission and past president of the Tacoma Chapter of the NAACP.
Silas told the board the statues were racist and 'harmful to society at large.'
