I am very sensitive to contemporary implications of the name of the ship--but it was never intended to reference African slavery which is the root of the current objection.
True.
That said, there is an important social context in the world right now that cannot be ignored and should be supported.
The name of Boba Fett's ship was never mentioned on screen and is only known popularly because of merchandise and tie-ins. IMO this is entirely a non-issue that should upset nobody.
If it was a non-issue, then it begs the question why Disney/Lucasfilm did not leave the matter alone. I'm black and grew up with
Star Wars from the series' beginning, and as marketing for TESB was saturating the the four corners of the world, I aware of
Slave I being the well-marketed name of Fett's ship. Not once did I--or any black people I knew who were also aware of the name--think it was referencing the enslavement of our people to any degree or with any intent...because it was not.
In that period, the name was
everywhere--from a description on the
"Starcrafts" listing of the ship as part of Topps' second TESB trading card set, the Kenner die-cast ship and action figure vehicle, to the MPC model kit, and referred by name in Marvel's adaptation of the film.
It was not a matter of
"well, people were not as sensitive back then," or
"there's more awareness now" as either used by anyone as some sort of explanation would be woefully ignorant of history. Outcry and content changes have occurred for decades when there was a genuine cause for complaints / changes (e.g., entire shorts from the
Our Gang / Little Rascals TV syndication package were edited or never broadcast due to racially offensive content).
This is not the case with
Slave I. This is the typical, highly questionable corporate attempt to
appear socially aware--not out of genuine understanding, but for desperation and optics (and any accolades they might receive in their entertainment / political echo chamber), as this is the same Disney/Lucasfilm that was widely, accurately and deservedly criticized for creating--
in 2015--a modern day minstrel out of the sequel trilogy's one black male lead--Finn the janitor/Stormtrooper/yelling bumbler, and how he was increasingly marginalized from one film to the next, while the company gladly reduced actor John Boyega's image in the marketing materials for certain foreign territories known to despise black people (both subjects Boyega himself complained about in
GQ and other publications).
....but Fett's ship was the hill Disney/Lucasfilm wanted to die on?
Yeah, sure.
Believing everyone simply forgot the Finn/Boyega issue, the company (like so many) believe they can speak for / represent the feelings & perceptions of black people, as if this particular subject had been bothering black people for decades. No one is convinced of Disney/Lucasfilm's latest bid at appearing virtuous and caring ever-so-much for
"us po' black folk".
Fuck them.