Skin Lighteners, Black Consumers and Jewish Entrepreneurs in South Africa
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4493721 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Laurence Thomas (University of Washington, corresponding author), L M Thomas (0009-0007-9428-5236) |
| Year | 2012 |
| Volume | 73 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 259-283 |
| Publication date | 2012-04-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | History Workshop Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1363-3554 • E-ISSN: 1477-4569 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/hwj/dbr017 |
| PMID | 22830098 |
| OpenAlex | W1964261410 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 8 |
| References cited | 8 |
This article considers the rise and decline of South Africa's lucrative and controversial skin-lighteners market through examination of the business history of the largest manufacturers, Abraham and Solomon Krok, and their evolving personas as millionaires and philanthropists. Such examination reveals how the country's skin-lighteners trade emerged as part of the broader growth of a black consumer market after the Second World War and how elements of that market became the target of anti-apartheid protests in subsequent decades. It also demonstrates how the Kroks' experiences as second-generation Jewish immigrants shaped their involvement in the trade and how, later, their self-identification as Jewish philanthropists informed their efforts to rehabilitate their reputations following South Africa's 1990 ban on all skin lighteners. Such efforts include the building of Johannesburg's highly acclaimed Apartheid Museum, modelled after the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. This article explores the profound ironies that some South Africans see in the fact that a museum dedicated to commemorating those who suffered under and, ultimately, triumphed against state racism was financed by a family fortune generated through the sale of skin lighteners to black consumers.
Archaeology · Black market · Economic history · Immigration · Judaism · Political science · Racism · Sociology · State (computer science) · The Holocaust · African history and culture studies · African studies and sociopolitical issues · Gender Studies · History · Law · South African History and Culture
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| Unique citing works | 8 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0.62 |
| Citation span | 2013 - 2023 (11) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 8 |