I think it is a problematic issue (and an issue that also divides doll collectors). The golliwog does have a racist history, and racism against black people was pretty bad when the golliwog came out, particularly in the USA. The name itself is offensive, and maybe these dolls should be renamed in the first place.
However, I have seen explanations of why they are offensive that in themselves sounded pretty racist instead of against racism, like that they are ugly caricatures because they have black frizzy hair, fleshy lips, scary round eyes rimmed in white... I don't know, but I think that saying that all these features are ugly sounds racist in itself to me.
So yes, it is definitely a difficult issue.
