Girl Guides of Canada Rename “Brownies” to “Embers” to Defeat White Supremacy

I’m still shocked to hear that Girl Scouts are called “Girl Guides” in Canada.

I’m going to have to get over that before I even begin to try to process claiming that “brownie” is a racist word.

CNN:

The Canadian equivalent of the Girl Scouts is dropping the name “Brownie,” the membership branch of some of its youngest scouts, after current and former scouts raised concern that it could harm Black members and girls of color.

Now, 7- and 8-year-old members of the Girl Guides of Canada will be called Embers, a name chosen with the help of current scouts and adult alumni. Other scouting organizations, including Girl Scouts of the USA, still use the name Brownies, but the origin of the word itself is less important than the way it made girls feel, Girl Guides of Canada CEO Jill Zelmanovits said in a statement.

Girl Guides of Canada said it made the change after members said the former name was offensive to them: “This was a name that made them feel extremely uncomfortable, prompted teasing and racist comments and was a barrier to feeling that they belong at Girl Guides.”

“Some do not want to be part of this branch because of the name,” the organization said. “Some girls choose to skip this branch altogether or delay joining Girl Guides until after this branch.”

Girl Guide troops are expected to start using the Embers name immediately, per Girl Guides, with updated Embers materials and uniforms to follow.

Both Girl Guides and Girl Scouts have pledged to become “anti-racist organizations” since 2020. “We are dedicated to carrying out this pledge, and we are currently evaluating all aspects of our program to ensure alignment with this commitment,” the Girl Scouts of the USA said in a statement to CNN.

The branch of the Scouts is called “brownies” after a food they bake and sell. Brownies the food are called that because the chocolate in them makes them the color brown.

“Brownies” is not a racist dessert name.

It would be racist if they were called “coon cakes” or “nigger bites.” But they’re not called that, so it’s not racist.

We can’t just pretend dark colors don’t exist because some folks were unfortunate enough to be born with brown skin.

They need to take that issue up with Ham, and ask him why he raped his own father.