page_title: Murzyn
section_title: In Polish culture
hierarchical_section_title: Murzyn / Meaning and usage / In Polish culture
context_page_description: Murzyn was historically a common Polish word for a black person. According to University of Warsaw language professor Dr hab. Marek Łaziński, the word had little negative association through the 1980s and into the 1990s; but as the Polish language evolved the word became less and less common and it's associations became more and more pejorative. In August 2020, Professor Marek Łaziński published an opinion at the Polish Language Council website arguing against its modern and public use and recommending that the word "Murzyn" not be used other than in historical quotes, noting that this is not yet the official stance of the council. The word roughly translates into English as either "black" or "negro".
context_section_description: A famous children's poem "Murzynek Bambo" has been criticized for imprinting a stereotypical image of an African child. Others argue that the poem should be seen in the context of its time, and that commentators should not go overboard in analysing it. A journalist Adam Kowalczyk says that he "did not become a racist" because of reading the poem. 
  In 2014 a brand of Polish margarine, "Palma", which portrays a cartoony black person (first launched in 1972) was rebranded into "Palma z Murzynkiem", and the usage of this term attracted similar criticism. The use of the word "Murzynek" (a diminutive of Murzyn) was criticized by Polish-Senegalese Mamadou Diouf, who called for a boycott. Polish linguist Jerzy Bralczyk noted that the word "Murzyn" is not pejorative, but diminutives could be seen as such, if only because they are diminutives. The margarine producer, Bielmar, denied any racist views, and stated that the logo has been a distinctive part of the product for decades, abolishing it would result in a loss of the company's strongest brand, and the current rebranding with the diminutive (from "Palma" to "Palma z Murzynkiem") is simply a response to the common nickname of the product as used by the customers.
  Pod Murzynami ("Under the Murzyns") is also a not uncommon name for chemist's shops or tenement buildings in Poland. Often an image of a black person accompanies the name.
  A Polish general of African descent, Władysław Franciszek Jabłonowski (1769–1802), was nicknamed "Murzynek".
caption: A Negress (Murzynka) by Anna Bilińska-Bohdanowicz, 1884
exif: {"Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image Software": "Microsoft Windows Photo Gallery 6.0.6001.18000", "Image DateTime": "2014:01:24 18:39:26", "Image ExifOffset": "2202", "Image Padding": "[]", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "96", "Thumbnail YResolution": "96", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "4420", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "2167", "EXIF ImageUniqueID": "58D216E5669748FF9B8BC8D7A9FB4514", "EXIF Padding": "[]"}