Since nobody asked, I'm forced to point out here that the fellow pictured above is space scientist Jeff Long from Mattel's Major Matt Mason toy line. While Hasbro had produced a brown-skinned G.I. Joe all the way back in 1965, three or four years before Mattel came out with Jeff Long, this was just a regular Caucasian G.I. Joe painted a darker shade. I think the box actually said "Negro Soldier" in big letters as well, so as to avoid trouble if the toy was distributed in the South. By contrast, Jeff Long's race was never once mentioned in the packaging or the publicity -- he was simply another of the Major's "space buddies."
Tag, you're it!
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Since nobody asked, I'm forced to point out here that the fellow pictured above is space scientist Jeff Long from Mattel's Major Matt Mason toy line. While Hasbro had produced a brown-skinned G.I. Joe all the way back in 1965, three or four years before Mattel came out with Jeff Long, this was just a regular Caucasian G.I. Joe painted a darker shade. I think the box actually said "Negro Soldier" in big letters as well, so as to avoid trouble if the toy was distributed in the South. By contrast, Jeff Long's race was never once mentioned in the packaging or the publicity -- he was simply another of the Major's "space buddies."
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