The retail clothing chain that stirred controversy for selling the game Ghettopoly has bowed to protests from black activists and pulled the product from its shelves.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports after two weeks of brisk sales, Urban Outfitters Friday decided to yank the game, which pokes fun at the ills of American ghetto life, including drug abuse and gangsta rap. The game requires “playas” to steal and sell drugs while building crack houses and public housing.
“Due to customer concerns, Urban Outfitters no longer sells the board game Ghettopoly,” said a statement from the company.
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“My word, what a victory. That’s great,” the Rev. Robert P. Shine Sr., president of the Black Clergy of Philadelphia and Vicinity, told the paper. “They saw the light. I’m ecstatic.”
Said protest organizer Mark Herrell, president of Men United for a Better Philadelphia, “I think it’s a moral victory. [Company CEO Richard] Hayne realizes that Urban Outfitters has a bigger name than Ghettopoly.”
Game players can still buy Ghettopoly on its website. [Editors note: Since this was written, the site is no longer available.] Creator David T. Chang, an immigrant entrepreneur from Taiwan, said no one race is singled out in the game and that even his own Asian ethnicity is parodied.
According to the Inquirer, Hasbro, the maker of Monopoly, has threatened to sue Chang if he doesn’t stop selling the game.
“Why would I stop making this game?” he is quoted by the paper as asking. “I think a lot of things are offensive. Certain rappers are offensive. Am I going to tell them to stop making [music]? Last time I checked, this was still America.”
Chang said the controversy fueled sales and created a backlog on his website.
A press release from Chang about the game stated: “Ghettopoly draws on stereotypes not as a means to degrade, but as a medium to bring together in laughter. If we can’t laugh at ourselves and how we each utilize the various stereotypes, then we’ll continue to live in blame and bitterness.”
