LACES's annual fall fundraiser is upon us, and this year's theme is "Kung Fu Adventure." Plastic toys called "coops" are distributed as incentives for selling items for the fundraiser. 

This year, to fit the "Kung Fu" theme, one of the coops is named "Fu Manchu." This is very insensitive as Fu Manchu is a character created by British author Sax Rohmer, later used in a variety of movies, comics, and shows. This character was played by a white man who wore makeup and fake facial hair to imitate a Chinese man, otherwise known as yellowface. Rohmer sought to personify his theories of “Eastern Devilry,” and the “unemotional cruelty of the Chinese,” which is patently racist. Asian American groups have routinely fought against this character and what he represents. 

Fu Manchu was originally Shang Chi's father in the Marvel comics, and because of how offensive the character is, they completely redid Shang Chi's backstory for the 2021 movie. You can read about that here:

https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/shang-chi-racist-origins

A character that even Marvel has denounced should not be the namesake of a children's toy.

On top of this, Kung Fu is a part of the Chinese culture. However, the producer of the coops confused Chinese and Japanese culture on a variety of occasions. Take for example, the use of the word "sensei," which is used repeatedly in the promotional videos and is also the name of another coop. Also, another coop is a sumo wrestler which is distinctly part of Japanese culture. This confusion of culture only contributes to the general population's lack of understanding of distinct Asian ethnicities.

It disheartens me that this company, which caters to schools is deeply misinformed. I reached out to Believe Kids and they responded that "Fu Manchu" is only referring to a mustache. They linked this Wikipedia article below.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fu_Manchu_moustache

However, it clearly states in the article that they sent to me that the mustache belongs to the racist character Fu Manchu, and also that it is used to mock Asians.

"The facial hair style is often used to stereotype Asian, more specifically Chinese, ethnicity. Many caricatures of Chinese in the 19th and early 20th century depict Chinese with such facial hair."

Especially after an increase in hate crimes which target  Asian Americans, including in Los Angeles, the use of this name is very offensive.

The reason that stereotypes persist is that they are used repeatedly. Stereotypes do not belong anywhere, especially in schools.

We hope that LACES, as well as other schools participating in the fundraiser take this issue seriously and reconsider distributing the coops.